GATE:Thus the UNSCDF Fought Here
by Johnnieboy11
Summary: After an Assault on the newly-recovered Resort Colony, New Arcadia, from unknown forces that had stepped through a Forerunner technological piece, a GATE, as called and, thanks to a set of coords embedded within its walls, the UNSCDF Dispatches the Infinity Battlegroup, biggest post-war one, to investigate them and stop the attackers before another Covenant War hits the Colonies.
1. The UNSCDF Deploys

_When a Gate appears in the middle of New Arcadia in the late times of our year 2558, when hundreds of people die from the soldiers and creatures that emerge from the Gate..._

 _When a set of Coordinates Imbedded on the gate sends the entire_ Infinity _Battlegorup toward a planet on the far east of the Galaxy, where neither them or the Sangheilli or Covies have been._

 _When a Call To Arms against a people far less advanced than you, stands before you, when they murder your civilians, pillage your towns and many others, what will you do?_

 _2nd Lieutenant Itami... The Question stands. What will you do now?_

 _This is our Gate, and thus, we can prove that the UNSCDF Fought Here._

 _-Unknown Corporal's question toward his Marine NCO_ _upon descending on the planet of New Eden, late 2559 UNSC Standard-calendar-_

 **Orbit over New Eden, planetary designation of class-5 habitable(Unpolluted).**

 **UNSC _Infinity_ Battlegroup. **

**Ship number-1000 Ships, including Dreadnaught. Over 15000 Single-ships and Transport Ships in said vessels' hangars**

Boots clanking against steel grating within the hangar of the UNSC Carrier _All Under Heaven_ , the Steel Hogs, UNSC Marines of the hundred-seventy-fifth Armored Division, loaded crates into five armed Pelicans. The Gunmetal Green transports had three Rocket Pods on each wing and a 35mm Gatling Cannon in the front, loaded with Depleted Uranium Rounds. The pilots, aboard the two lead aircraft, Echo-419, Callsign:Foehammer and Echo-451, Callsign:Pole, Major Carol Rowley and Lieutenant Shiela Polaski checked the vehicles' engine angling, pivoting and movement of said engines. They'd checked ignition and guns earlier. Right now, some old Rock song was playing in the cockpit. _Another Brick In The Wall._

Looking back at the Hogs, Rawley grinned and waved their Non-Com forward. A young Japanese male, age 23, with raven hair and brown eyes, walked up to the cockpit. He had 2nd Lieutenant's Bars on his collar and shoulder pads, on his chest was the Hogs' symbol, a Covie Skull with two bullet holes, a shield and two BRX55 Service Rifles crossed behind it. He had his standard-issue MA5C slung behind his back, held by a strap of leather.

"Hey there, Yoji. Feels good to be back in uniform?" Rawley inquired, grin withstanding, her accent holding. Itami smirked, then shot back "Yep. Gonna be fun getting payback for New Arcadia. Damned place saw a Covie strike, Innies and now this..." He looked back "I still remember catching that attack when I was in town for the Manga and Anime festival..."

Rawley laughed, then nodded to him "Otaku to the bone, you freaking Jap. Loading done?" To which he hummed in agreement and answered "Alright, everyone! Drop your cocks and grab your socks! Haul ass aboard! We're the UNSCDF Advance Party right now!" She called out a checklist as everyone got aboard, both UNSCDF Male Soldiers and Females alike, loading their ammo "Guns, Check! Ammo, Check! Bullet in the chamber, Check! Fingers on the trigger, Check!" She started the engines of the aircraft "Safeties on! MASTER ARM, on!" She flicked a switch and, on her helmet's HUD, weapons reticules appeared, both for the unguided Rockets and the 37mm Gatling. "Helmets on your heads, armors on! Check! Flaps and engines pre-checked! We're a-good to go! Flight Control, this is Echo Flight, requesting permission for takeoff from Hangar 13 of the _All Under Heaven_!" And a light flickered green on her console "Alright! We're punching it! Nose-dive into the Atmosphere! Hang on to your helmets, lads and lassies!"

The back hatch of the aircraft closed and sealed with loud hisses, removing them from exposure to the void outside. Meanwhile, in contrast, the doors of the Hangar split open, retracting into the metal floors and grating, then vanishing completely. Rawley pushed the speed lever forward and the engines jerked the ship off the grating and off the landing pad, gears retracting. "WE'RE A-GO FOR LAUNCH! ECHO, GO, GO, GO!" And, before the Marines knew it, the vehicle flew out of the hangar like the bullet out of a rifle and Rawley veered toward the Planet ahead of them. Around the VTOL Craft, the largest UNSC Battlegroup ever conceived stood. From their smallest, Longsword-class bombers, to their biggest, the _Infinity_ , surrounded them. Lo' and Behold, outside the large ship sphere, a sea of stars expanded farther out to a point unknown to none.

A small squadron of five Broadsword-class Fighters joined the in-diving Pelicans and the wing leader called Rawley. She flicked the com on and answered "Foehammer here, go ahead." And a male voice answered " _This is THUNDER-1-1, we'll be your escort for the day, Major._ " followed by Carol's answer, which she heartily gave with a laugh "Welcome to the show, THUNDER! Keep your pants on! Business is good today!"

" _What's your Cargo, Foehammer?"_ Inquired Thunder 1, calmly.

"We're carrying five Squads from the Steel Hogs down to the planet. Part of the Forward Advance Force. We'll meet with the rest on the ground" Answered the Major, keeping her eyes on the planet. "We'll be landing on a hilltop and setting up defenses there, HighCom orders from FA Lasky Himself." She continued, then said "Be Advised, all wings and all Hogs, things might get hot in here. We're entering the Atmosphere."

" _Copy."_

 _"Roger!"_

 _"Aye!"_

 _"Hot on the Drop, Major? Try being shot at with Plasma."_

Rawley chuckled at the last response, Polaski's. She'd known that kid for less than 6 years and yet she'd never been promoted, mostly by her request to stay as Foehammer's NCO. Wisps of Amber formed across her windscreen, then turned into a bright-orange fireball as the lot went deeper into the Atmosphere. On her right, left and up, black with white speckles turned cobalt and white, then a beautiful bright blue. "All wings, angle your engines and prepare for slingshot descent." Rawley called, looking at the ground and clouds hurtling toward them. 'Slingshot descents' referred to the Pilot aiming the powerful forward-move engines downward and powering to maximum Thrust, allowing the ship to fly forward, cancelling its horizontal velocity and allowing it to arch back, nose up and move along. A movie-like maneuver, very strenuous on the pilot and craft, but today, with the new Dampeners installed on the aircraft, it's possibly the best way to catch forward velocity and land safely.

* * *

The first 25 Pelicans had landed in an orderly fashion on the hill and all Marines piled out, setting up defenses, the likes of Trenches, and unloading supplies from the transports, ranging from crates of ammo for every weapon deployed, to Warthogs carrying Multi-Launch Rocket Systems and Gatling Cannons and the infamous Scorpion Tanks of the UNSC, all of which had been set up in their own little potholes and trenches, effectively becoming Fortified Bunkers and Gun Emplacements. 3 Pelicans with UNSC Spartan-IVs had landed from the UNSC _Infinity,_ lead by Commander Sarah Palmer on the ground.

Fireteams Crimson, Majestic and Gladius(A Gamma-Company Spartan-III Squad) had deployed alongside her and were currently set up in the trenches, 7.62mm NATO Rounds loaded into their SAWs, drum-magazine, long-barreled Automatic Machineguns with a 50-round clip. Gabriel Thorne sat in one of the lower positions of the trenches, sniper aimed through a tiny slit toward the surrounding area from the Hill, which had been dubbed Hill 1715. The rumble of the other 5 4-engined UNSC Aircraft sounded off and Palmer looked up, to see the vehicles landing and unloading the last marine squads. The Hogs. She stopped Itami in his tracks and said "Welcome to the show, Lieutenant Itami. Hope you're ready to kill some freaks."

"Ma'am." Itami saluted, then jumped into the trench and joined his friends. Itami looked ahead, to see something awfully odd marching toward them. Among the clanking of heavy steel armor, there were creatures carrying maces and swords with them, such other trivialities as bows and arrows and... It looked Medieval as hell. Just like the bastards who assaulted Arcadia. He looked to the Gypsy company soldiers and Spartans sitting beside him, then sighed and aimed down his rifle's Ironsights.

"STEADY!" Called Palmer, cocking her pistols "KEEP YOUR EYES DOWN YOUR SIGHTS AND FINGERS OFF YOUR BLOODY TRIGGERS UNTIL THEY GET CLOSE ENOUGH, THEN SLAUGHTER THE BASTARDS!" She barked, then looked up, to see nearly a hundred dragons moving toward them, their purple scales glistening in the sunlight as their white countershaded belly stood out. She grinned, aimed her pistol, then barked as they got in range "ALL GUNS! FIRE FREE!"

Assault Rifles and SAWs barked, spitting hot lead toward the targets. Thorne's sniper howled and one of the Dragons fell out of the air, its head sheared clean off by the force of the bullet hitting it, and landed ahead of the soldiers' lines. Undeterred, they kept advancing. Palmer's magnums roared and she shot two more enemies out of the sky, then looked to Foehammer and the other armed Pelicans and waved them to go up and aid. Foehammer grinned, gave her a thumbs up, then barked something she couldn't hear due to the com being off. The Pelicans burst off the ground and their miniguns spun. The first Round was spit out of Foehammer's gun and struck one of the dragons, completely vaporizing it. A mist of blood floated out, scattering in the sky as both it and its rider vanished.

With the enemy air support dealt with before they could do any damage by breathing fire on them or some shit, one of the Pelicans dived and opened fire with its Gatling gun, gutting through the forward line of the enemy force. Marine Assault Rifle fire tore through what remained and the SAWs finished the job. Well over a thousand soldiers that remained received the brunt of the MLRS's from the Warthogs. Explosions tore up the ground and, finally, as the cannonade of fire died down, Palmer looked over the field, squinting to zoom in with her helmet, then sighed, slid her pistols on her thigh holsters and took her helmet off, shaking her head to straighten her bang.

"Fireteam Crimson, with me! The others, stand ground as we check the fuckers we killed out, make sure they're dead." She barked, then grabbed a DMR from one of the Marines and ran off ahead with Crimson. The squadron of five women now moved through the bodies of the soldiers, all of whom were clad in Roman legionnaire-like armors, with shields very alike and weapons not matching, while the creatures beside them looked like something straight out of fantasy. She knelt beside one, turned it over and said "Jeez... Purest definition of 'A Face only a Mother Could Love'."

Itami ran up to the Lieutenant and looked around, then said "Wow... Whole host of Fantasy creatures." with glee, kneeling beside one. Palmer looked to him and asked "Didn't I tell you to sit in the fuckin' trench, Lieutenant?" To which he nodded "Aye, but I wanted to help too." And she sighed, rubbing her forehead "Okay then... Get the Marines and police these bodies... Bury them. We'll look for survivors." She placed her helmet on her head as Itami walked off, then called via Radio "Foehammer, give us a link with the UNSC _Infinity_. Tell them we've encountered the fuckers we're looking for and are awaiting permission to pursue and find targets of opportunity in the surrounding area, over."

" _Aye. Patching High Command through now, ma'am. Standby."_ Answered Foehammer calmly. Palmer nodded to Crimson, then once again looked over the field of knights and creatures and dragons full of bullet holes and stated "This world is some FUBAR Place..." With a calm voice. The Crimsons chuckled, then their commander, Lieutenant Mirele Jones, walked beside Palmer and continued "Well... Wouldn't be a Gypsy mission were it so easy, right Commander?"

Palmer grinned behind her mask, then nodded and answered "Amen, Miri. Amen." And turned toward their trenches "Let's Haul Ass back to the Hill."

* * *

 _ **AN:As an explanation to how Carol Rawley and Polaski are alive, this is an Alternate Universe Scenario, where many(If not all as I original had planned) Of the Spartans and young soldiers of the UNSC Survived the war. To clarify, Alpha, Beta and Gamma companies are alive and kicking arse, alongside the original S-IIs and, yes, Johnson is part of the Invasion Force against the Empire here in GATE:Thus The UNSCDF Fought Here. Enjoy!**_


	2. Japanese Ahoy!

**UNSC** ** _Infinity_ Bridge. 12:00+ Hours since beginning of mission.**

On board the most advanced warship the UNSC Has ever deployed, Fleet Admiral Thomas Lasky, a man forged of many battles, trained at Corbulo as an officer, stood, facing the Observation Windows of his bridge, which was packed full of life, both human and AI, as they attempted to figure out the scope of the planet's settlements. A very earth-like, habitable planet, owned by strange fantasy creatures, as earlier reported by Commander Palmer. He sighed, then looked back to the holotable that sat in the middle of the bridge and asked "Roland?"

Blades of gold spun, creating a small whirlwind of bytes, out of which, the avatar of a man, clad in a World War 2 Bomber's Jacket and uniform, stood face-to-face with the Admiral. He saluted, then said "Admiral Lasky, sir." And nodded "If you're out to ask about anything comms related from the planet below, nothing. Scanners show nearly a thousand different settlements, both big and small, on just that one continent Commander Palmer landed on. However..." Roland started with a grin, making Lasky stare at him intently. The Admiral calmly asked "However, what, Roland?"

"There's simple Radio Signatures Fifteen clicks North-North-East from the Hill Palmer and her boys and gals set up. Faint Battle Chatter." He looked around "I can patch it through the Bridge's loudspeakers if you want, sir?" And Lasky nodded "Do it, Roland. Let's hear them out." Roland saluted and smirked "Sir, yessir." And vanished. Soon, through the loudspeakers of the ship, an old human language, that known as Japanese, started playing. Lasky looked toward the planet, listening to every single word and aliteration carefully. The words suddenly turned to English as Roland said "Translation Software Enabled..."

 _"This is JSDF Special Zone Exploration Unit, we're home free. Had an engagement with locals upon arrival last night and are setting up defenses, over."_ Called the voice of the commander. Lasky's eyes widened. He knew the JSDF. The Japanese Self-Defense Force, still on Earth as part of the mainstay UNSC Home Fleet and Military down on the planet. The counterresponse came quickly from their commander " _Copy that, Advance Unit. This is Lieutenant-General Hamaza. We're en-route with the rest of the force and construction supplies. Advise you make contact with the villages in the area, try setting up friendly relations."_

"Roland, see if you can patch us into their mainstay Radio when they set it up." Lasky called, to which Roland saluted "Aye, sir!" And Lasky looked back at him, stoic as ever, then continued "And patch Commander Palmer through again. Tell her to deploy Crimson and make contact with the local JSDF Forces... If we make an alliance here, then maybe we can stop the incidents from spreading out..."

 _The Japanese Self-Defense Force... They can't be our own. No gate opened in Tokyo or... Could they be? Could they be from the Past?!_

"Roland, get Cortana to make calculations relating to the possibility of the GATEs being able to transport across both space and time, Deploy the Sergeant-Major and his Marines, ASAP." He barked, then looked toward the planet "Set an RV Point for them and Crimson right at the edge of Hill 217, Five Klicks from the JSDF one. From there, they'll go in, try and secure peace with them. I want this 'First Contact' to be as clean as possible."

"Aye, Sir!" Answered Roland calmly. "First, knights and Romans and Goblins, now the JSDF... What's next for our raggedy bunch." He then murmured sarcastically, his Avatar flashing off the table with a grin.

* * *

 **Aboard Foehammer's Pelican, later that day.**

"All marines, asses in gear!" Barked Johnson, looking around at his men, then to the Spartans "It's damn good to have your team here today, Lieutenant Mirele, but I have to question why in the name of all that's beautiful and Green on this world would we need Spartans to make peace?" The man grinned "If it's firepower these past JSDF Want, we'll give it to them bloody good."

"The Lieutenant and we are here to make sure that if shit goes south," One of the squad's younger soldiers, Natasha Romanoff, started with a grin, cocking her rifle and looking at Johnson "We have a way to pull everyone out alive." She looked to Itami, who was staring out at the ground they were skimming over and asked "Ya okay, Itami?" And he nodded, shouldering his newly-received BRX55 Battle Rifle. "Don't'cha think it's a bit weird, Romanoff? I mean, did a second Gate open in Tokyo and we weren't aware of it?"

"Cortana's making calculations relating to this stuff, Lieutenant. Lasky said the lot could actually be from the past, much to opposing beliefs in the fleet. Doctor Halsey'll be down here to confirm it, though, soon enough." Answered Mirele, examining her Sniper "Worry not! We'll all be fine down there."

 _"Entering JSDF Radio Range! Patching them through now and activating Translation software!"_ Barked Foehammer from the Cockpit " _Sarge, get your ass up here. You're the one command wants to talk to them!"_ To which Johnson smirked and walked up through the cockpit door. She handed him a microphone and said with a grin "Try not to swear at them too much. I'm bloody sure they'll shoot us clean out of the air with their damned Jap AA Guns." Johnson grinned, nodded, slid the earpiece on and called "This is Sergeant-Major Avery Junior Johnson of the UNSC Defense Force, calling the Jap commander! Be advised, we're here with friendly thoughts, not to start a damn firefight with you all. Should we be forced to, we will open fire with the full arsenal of our armored Gunship and all of our gear."

Soon enough, the answer came in clear English with their Japanese accent " _Understood Sergeant-Major. You are cleared for landing. Be advised, we'll have a squad waiting for you and your peers upon your arrival. Land at the given coords and all will be fine. SDF Temporary Air Control out."_ It made Johnson grin, hearing a proper translation, although with their accent, on the working side. He nodded to Foehammer and said "Take us down, nice and easy, Rawley." He padded her on the shoulder "Not like when we landed on that damned alien Hoola-hoop."

Foehammer chuckled, then nodded and said "Aye, Sarge." And she went back to the piloting. Johnson went to the back seat and grabbed his shotgun, Shouldered it and loaded Shells, then pulled the pump back, feeding a shell into the chamber. He then took a seat in front, with Itami and told the Lieutenant "You were there when New Arcadia took the hit, right?" And Itami nodded "Yeah... Sadly..."

"Well..." Johnson started, leaning back and pulling out one of his classic Sweet Williams Cigars. He grabbed his lighter, lit the damn thing and took a puff from it, then looked at Itami and grinned "Life's a bitch, kid, but don't worry about it. We're all here for the same damn reason. Prevent the bastards from doing another one." He nodded "We're Jolly Green Giants, walking this land, with guns. The fuckin' knights here won't have a shot at us if we keep'em at a distance."

Itami nodded with a smile and said "Aye, sarge." He shouldered his Battle Rifle as they flew above the JSDF Battlements and spotted another GATE down below. The Aircraft touched down at the requested location and the Marines and Spartans got out, weapons slung on their backs. Ahead of them, a squadron of flecktarn-green pattern-dressed soldiers walked out toward them, full combat gear on including the helmet and Bulletproof vest, Howa Type 89 Rifles on their backs. Itami stopped, shock streaking across his face. Mirele looked at him, then looked toward...

Itami!?

"What the actual fuck in a handbasket?!" Demanded Mirele, shocked as she looked to and fro between the two "I-Itami!?"

"This is some Next Level shit..." Said one of the other marines, clutching her DMR tightly. "There's two of the Lieutenant..."

"I... uh..." The other Itami stuttered, then looked around and saw Mirele's armor and soon realized "Ohmygod. Kurata." He pointed at the Spartans and one boy beside him gasped, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "SPARTANS!" He cried with joy. The JSDF Itami grinned, then crossed his arms "When command mentioned the UNSC, I knew it was something along the lines of you g-" He stopped, looking at Johnson "No fucking way. No fuckin' way! IT'S SERGEANT-MAJOR AVERY JUNIOR JOHNSON! SINGLE-HANDED THE BIGGEST BADASS THAT AIN'T A SPARTAN!"

Johnson looked to their Itami with a grin and shrugged "Wonder what this is about..."

The UNSC Itami soon realized what this was and, at the same time as his JSDF mirror image, he said "ALTERNATE UNIVERSES!" ecstatically. The two pointed at each-other than shook hands "Oh, hell yeah!" Cried the UNSC 2nd Lt. and his JSDF Counterpart answered "This is freakin' awesome! Just like the Doctor Who series and all that Manga we've been reading!"

"AUs For the Win!" The two cried with bright grins on their faces as they high-fived.

One of the girls of the JSDF Boy's unit, Kuribayashi, sighed and rubbed her forehead, then started "This has to be a joke... There's two of the Lt. now..." She sighed then looked to their NCO and politely asked "Hey, uhm... Sergeant-Major Kuwahara, could you hit me in the head with your rifle?" To which the tall, tanned Asian man shook his head, giving her a calm answer "Sorry, Kuribayashi. Not today... We have to live through this, you do too..." And they could hear a groan from her.

"Uhm... Lieutenant Itami of the JSDF." Johnson asked, taking the soldier's attention to him. "Nice to meet'cha. IF you're as much a geek as our Itami is, I'm actually not surprised. Anyways, off to the topic at hand. We're here to talk an alliance with the lot of you..." He pointed up and started "Ya see, we have a Battlegroup of 1000 Ships up there with the _Infinity_ and its Admiral, Lasky, awaiting for us to Confirm that you lot are friendly, which would exclude you from being nuked from orbit. Am I clear enough?" He explained slowly. The Lieutenant nodded and saluted "Aye, Sarge..." The kid stopped to process it, then his eyes widened due to pure shock " _In-... In-... Infi-... INFINITY~?!"_ He barked in a squeaky voice, then passed out.

 _ **A few hours later...**_

The hill where the JSDF had set up officially became the Headquarters of the conjoined UNSCDF and JSDF Forces stationed on New Eden. With a GATE to the Ginza district behind them, sealed in a dome and with buildings under set up around them, the likes of Barracks and other facilities for the military, the UNSC Quickly started deploying a dozen marine Companies and three Spartan Companies, of which, Gypsy Company and its marines were boots-on-the-ground first. Palmer overlooked construction alongside several of her Gypsy Spartans, including Crimson.

On the deck, helmets on their heads, Blue Team exited the Combat Pelican that was piloted by Polaski, who also moved with them on the gangplank. Fred removed his helmet and slung it under his forearm, then grinned and said "Past JSDF Forces, a Lieutenant Itami in both our and their forces, us helping them construct their FOB and a Gate to a past version of Japan..." He looked to the Chief as they walked toward one of the tents, the command one and asked rhetorically "Our missions will never NOT involve something weird, right, Chief?"

"I'm bloody sure they won't, Fred." Answered Kelly, grinning behind her EVA Visor as she looked at the JSDF and Marines working together and socializing. She looked to John, then said with glee "This is gonna be one helluva field day for us. I mean, we're fighting folks clad in Legionnaire armors, Elves and some other Fantasy bull that I can't honestly stand."

"That the case?" Inquired Sam from beside her, with a wide grin on his face "Y'know, Kells, I knew you were into Fantasy stuff. What happened?"

"Eh, discovered Steampunk." Kelly shrugged, grin withstanding. Chief stopped up ahead of her and snapped into a stiff position, saluting. The Spartans noticed who was ahead of them and saluted too, stiffly. "SIR!" The Blues chanted as ahead, Lt-Gen. Hamaza of the JSDF, one of their new commanders, stood face-to-face with them. The man smiled and saluted back "Damned I be... You lot are a head taller than most of my men... Good to have you here, Spartans." He saluted, then said "At ease, Carry on." And walked off.

"He was not joking." John said, looking at his team "We're at least a forehead over everyone around us..." He sighed, then nodded "Spartans, I have a feeling our stay on New Eden has just tripled... Anyways, onto aiding with construction."

"Yes, sir!" Chanted Blue Team, saluting.


	3. Dragons

Three UNSC Warthogs, a Transport one and two Gatling-armed ones, alongside Recon 3, the Japanese Reconnaissance team lead by their 2nd Lieutenant Itami, moved across a small dirt road at top speed. On board the Transport 'Hog, NOBLE Team had been deployed to assist in case of hard combat engagements against the Locals. This was supposed to be a peaceful encounter mission down the road and Noble Six, Alexander-B312, knew this all too well. Since Reach, they'd been assigned as the UNSC's top hunter unit. Luckily for the unit, it was not Kat driving the Transport Hog, rather it was Emile, with Kat riding shotgun. Three other Spartans were in the back. Johnson, Carter and Jorge, while on another 'hog, Noble Seven, Anya-B214, was driving with Jun manning the gunner seat and a Marine on Shotgun.

Of course, aboard the transport vehicle en-route to one of the villages, Six and a pair of Johnson's Marines, Dubbo and Jackson, were seated, checking their weapons. Alexander, since Reach, had received an upgraded MA5G Assault Rifle, with an underbarrel Grenade Launcher instead of the Flashlight that usually came with the damn things, and also, the former 60-round mag capacity of the MA5B. On board the vehicle, under Marine Corporal Jackson's choice, an old song for the UNSC, but not so old for the JSDF, Rolling Stones' _Sympathy For The Devil_ played. Six slammed a fresh clip into his Assault Rifle, then hit the bolt, which clicked and fed a round into the rifle's chamber.

Watching the trio of UNSC Soldiers, Sergeant First-Class Shino Kuribayashi and her female, same-ranked comrade, Mari Kurokawa, had a bit of a feeling of awe, seeing a Seven-foot tall soldier (Seven Foot Four, to be exact) and his comrades, all clad in hyper-advanced military gear, with even more advanced weapons strapped to their person, checking up on their items as if preparing for war. It was both amazing and unsettling. Jackson grinned, cocking her BRX55 Service Rifle and sighting it down, then said "I'm joyous that Sarge was good enough to lend us his CDs for this ride." with a hint of Glee in her voice.

"You enjoy old music too much, Catherine." Dubbo said, sighting his MA5C Down.

"Yer one to talk, Chips." Smirked the girl, looking at her Australian comrade. The Spartan between them sighed, then stood up, relatively hard to do since he was taller than anyone meant to fit in the vehicle, basically having to crawl, and went to the front, squeezing himself between the seats, then asked Itami "How much further, Lieutenant?" And Itami shrugged "Air Recon said half an hour, Six. Call me Itami by the way. We're same rank after all."

"I prefer to keep to Military Protocol, Lieutenant." Six said, then took his seat back, interrupting a heated discussion between Dubbo and Jackson, then said "Settle down, Marines. Half an hour to go." He sighed, then looked to Kuribayashi and said "Sergeant. Staring is unpleasant. IF you'd please refrain from looking at me like I'm some form of Demon..." And Kuribayashi raised her hands defensively, shooting Six an awkward and embarrassed smile and waving, then said "Sorry, Lieutenant... It is sorta weird for me to see a guy clad in what is basically our armor, a Jet and a Tank combined and Jacked up on Steroids."

"Never, have I heard such a perfect description of Spartan armor." Kurata commented from the driver seat. "You should read the Books, Sergeant Kuribayashi! I'm sure you'd enjoy them even more, since, as I hear from most of the UNSC Marines around, the entire Spartan Family is alive!" He chuckled "Hallelujah! MJOLNIR!" And kept his eyes onto the wall. Six looked to Kurata with a bit of a questioning(Although, thanks to the visor, not sighted) glare. The Spartan sighed, then turned back to the maintenance of his weapons, slinging the Assault Rifle beside him and grabbing his DMR Off his back, pulled the bolt back and started cleaning it.

Kuribayashi leaned toward Kurokawa and whispered "I've never seen a guy like the Lieutenant... I'm probably gonna like it with him around. Gives off more of a serious military vibe." And Kurokawa nodded, calmly answering "Well, the Spartans are known among the UNSC Military Personnel as the top of the line soldiers."

Six tapped his mic and asked Anya "Status on the front?" And she answered _"Clear so far. No enemy contact."_ Calmly over the radio. " _Enjoying the ride, Alex? I hear there's three cute ladies aboard the vehicle with you."_ And he heard chuckles from the other Marines, making him sigh. "Yes... It's fine, Anya." He answered with a low growl, then leaned against the rails, supporting himself on them.

* * *

 ** _Coda Village, 30 minutes later._**

The Spartans watched the people socialize, a relatively peaceful First Contact. The translation software rewritten by several AI classes upon interrogation of one single surviving Imperial Soldier proved welcome by the JSDF and UNSC Marines alike, once printed. Much Six could do was sit around and make sure no one touched the trucks and Warthogs, or manned the Gatling Cannons on the 'Hogs. Their stay there was relatively boring.

This _Coda_ village was far too peaceful for a Spartan to last more than an hour in...

* * *

 ** _Forest Village, Three hours later_**

Burned...

Everything was leveled...

The scent of ash, burned wood and skin in the air was one that Six could feel even through his helmet. The Place looked like Napalm had been dropped on it last night. Every single building in the surrounding area, razed. The Soldiers moved through whatever remained of the place, clouds of ash raising at their feet. They'd seen that gigantic flying lizard burning the entire Forest... The Empire ordered this? What the hell did they win by doing this? By killing their own civilians?

Jackson knelt beside a pile of ash, from which a carbonized hand stuck out, raised as if asking for help. She took her helmet off, releasing her long, platinum-blonde hair and slung her rifle on her back, made a cross sign in the air, put her hands together and started praying. Anya and Alex moved around, rifles cradled in their arms and eyes up toward the sky, to make sure nothing was moving toward them and that the Dragon was not coming back.

"Christ almighty..." Whispered Anya, looking around. "A fucking Lizard did this..." She said with a bit of awe in her voice.

"A giant, fire-breathing Lizard..." Murmured Alexander, sighing deeply. He looked to Anya, then said "Take Lieutenant Itami and his squad, then move off that way." Calmly, pointing toward the other route of the village "I, Dubbo and Jackson will check this area." And she calmly nodded "Aye, big bro. On our way." She answered, then looked toward Itami and made a 'follow me' hand signal. He and his squad nodded, then started walking toward the other way. He waved Dubbo, Johnson and Jackson toward him, then made a sweeping motion with his hand. The trio of Hardass Marines nodded, then moved out.

What the Spartan first saw in his patrol sector he had elected for himself was a Well. He steadily moved toward it, with thought that maybe someone hid within it to escape the Dragon. Beside the well, which had ashes caught even between the stone's cracks, was the fountain's wooden water bucket, with what remained of the rope that lead it down. The Spartan picked it up and examined it. The rope had been burned. He placed it back onto the floor, then slowly and steadily peeked into the well.

What he saw had him frozen for a while. A beautiful young, blonde girl was stuck at the bottom of the well, clearly unconscious. He stopped, only staring up at her face. He could clearly tell she was stark-naked. The Spartan couldn't help but swallow, then wave Johnson forward and point down there "Get me a hinge and a way down there, Sarge. I'm going in."

Johnson restrained himself from giggling like a giddy school girl at what the Spartan said, then nodded and answered in his usually stoic-but-badass demeanor "Aye, Spartan." He moved toward the Warthog, locked the parking break(Fucking idiots forgetting to do that) and tossed Six one of the hinges that linked to the hinges of the hog, allowing him to go down the Well. He sighed, settled the thing to his belt, then jumped in, slowly skidding across the wall with his feet. He stopped as he reached the water and plopped his feet into it. It reached knee-length for the Spartan, which meant she was floating, barely. He took a knee beside her, slung his rifle on his back, disabled his shields then picked up the girl. He yanked the chord, then heard the 'Hog's engine roaring. Almost immediately, he felt himself and the girl getting lifted up from the well.

Around the well, the Spartans, JSDF And Marines were waiting to see the result. Six waved Jackson over and the young Marine girl brought a blanket and checked the strange woman. Once the Spartan got a proper look at her, out of the darkness of that damned well, he saw them... Short, pointy ears. He looked to Itami and Kurata, who were both in complete awe, then asked "Well, you two... What species?"

"Elf..." Itami blurted out with half a mouth. Kurata nodded in agreement, unable to talk. The Spartan looked to the young woman, laying, covered by the blanket, then whispered "Elf, huh?" And nodded, then looked to Itami "We can't just leave her here, Lieutenant..." And the man nodded "Agreed... Get her aboard the transport truck with you, your marines, Kuribayashi and Kurokawa... We have to head back to Coda, warn the villagers about the Dragon and help them evacuate."

"Agreed." Six said, then grabbed his DMR off his back and looked to Anya "The marines will help me carry the Elf Girl aboard the truck. You head for your 'Hog and get the others back here too... I want us Mobile yesterday." And Anya nodded, then saluted with a proud grin "Aye, aye, Lt! Warrant Officer, moving out!" The girl answered smugly, then turned and ran toward there the rest of NOBLE Went off too, to gather them.

"A Dragon, now a fuckin' Elf." Dubbs started, sighing deeply. "The hell's next?"

"Don't complain, Dubbo." Johnson said, then cocked his shotgun "Whatever it is, I'm sure we'll be able to kick Major Ass if it's hostile." And he placed a Cigar in his mouth, then took the driver seat of the Troop 'Hog "HAUL ASS! EVERYONE, TO YOUR STATIONS!"

* * *

 _ **Coda Village.**_

Keeping the evacuation as organized as possible, both the JSDF and the UNSC Personnel waved everyone forward, guiding them and helping them load the carts. Guns manned, Carter and Kat stood atop the two Gun Hogs, scanning the skies for any signs of the bastard Lizard Bird heading in. Meanwhile, Six was tending to the young Elf they'd recovered, keeping her vitals in check.

Just as he thought the area would be clear, a damned cart tipped over, its axle breaking. One of the horses was dead on the floor, while the other was going haywire, and it kept the Cart line from moving out, evacuating faster. Six jumped out of the vehicle, to see a young girl about to be hit by the horse, that had seemingly gone insane, then heard the thunder of one of the Japs' rifles. He looked to see Itami holding the rifle, its barrel still smoking, and the horse dead. The Spartan had instinctively drawn his DMR. Itami nodded to him, then the Spartan saw the horse move again, raising its hooves to strike the girl below it. He knelt, growled, then shot once, twice, three times. The creature fell dead, blood pooling around its body.

The Spartan, gun still smoking, moved beside Itami, then looked at the girl, who was basically in a state of shock. She had thin, pale blue swaying hair and indigo eyes. Looked 15 years of age. He nodded to Itami, then waved everyone forward and walked toward the cart. He put his hands under it, heaved it up, then threw it aside and waved everyone forward. The Carts continued their advance and the vehicles soon joined, Six sitting, rifle drawn, handing out of the back of the truck carrying him, his marines, Itami and his squad and the young Elf, his eyes peering up at the sky.


	4. The Return Home

**_Alnus Hill UNSC Airfield._**

Seven UNSC Falcons, the twin VTOL Propeller/Turbine engine aircraft of the UNSC were lined up across the concrete. The blades spun up, lifting clouds of dust around each aerial vehicle. Preparing for liftoff, manning the guns and flying the birds was under rule of Spartan Fireteam NORMANDY, lead by the Shepard twins. Jane and John Shepard stood aboard the leading Falcon, manning the two main guns. Jane waved the pilot and showed them to take off. The birds lifted off from the ground and moved in a staggered line to their requested RV point, each carrying about 6 Spartans on board.

"What's our target here?!" Jane asked her brother, checking her DMR. John nodded, then waved forward "RECON 3 Requested backup and aerial defense in the evacuation of Civilians from a village named Coda, due east of here! We located the 'Hogs and saw via SPY-SAT that they are moving with a large convoy of horse-drawn carts toward the base! High-Com has also spotted something odd, a flier about 30 clicks from them, moving fast!"

"And we're, what, supposed to intercept that thing?!" Demanded Jane. John shook his head, then answered calmly "We're there to provide aerial cover for the people on the ground as they make headway into getting to Alnus!" to which Jane nodded and answered "Aye, aye, big bro! Let's rack'em and stack'em!" And the Spartans loaded their weapons in quick succession, preparing for a premature deployment, as with any good Spartan mission.

/\/\/\/\

Making headway into the retreat, the UNSC Warthogs and JSDF Trucks escorted almost a hundred or more carts that moved down the beaten path they had taken a few hours ago to meet with the villages. Kat turned the turret of the gun and looked at the Humvee beside them, to see Kurata flooring it and Itami with his rifle out. The man cocked the weapon's bolt back and fed a round into the chamber. Clutching his Assault Rifle and looking at the girl aboard their truck, Six cocked his Assault Rifle, then stood up and walked to the front of the vehicle.

Seven, on the other hand, was driving one of the 'Hogs, keeping her eyes on the damn road as the slow-as-a-snail advance continued. They heard the rattle of helicopter blades and looked up, to see the dozen UNSC Falcons. Kat looked up and nodded to the Spartans that were peeking down at them and the people from the carts looked up as well. Seeing metallic flying beasts was apparently an oddity for them.

" _This is Jane Shepard of NORMANDY squad to the Jietai Humvee. We'll be your Eye in the Sky for today."_ A young woman said through radio. Itami looked up and smiled, then picked up the radio and answered "Copy your last, Shepard. Thanks for the backup." And the woman answered _"Have a safe journey. NORMANDY out."_ And the vehicles kept rolling, well past the hills and into an open field, which they'd encountered when heading for Coda.

The vehicles halted, the moment both Six and Itami saw someone coming from up ahead. With a flight of crows orbiting around her, the young girl was what both Itamis would've classified as a 'Gothic Lolita', carrying some massive halberd. She started walking toward them and spoke the language of the local people, then looked up at the sky, to see the Falcons holding position, guns spinning and troopers aiming toward her from aboard. She grinned, upon seeing a group of people from the carts moving ahead to meet her, mostly kids who were aboard the Humvee.

From what little Six could tell, same for the JSDF, they were praying to the girl. The Spartan exited the vehicle, then waved to Kat and she nodded. What shocked Six the most is, after a convo with a kid, the girl took a seat in Itami's lap. Just what in Sam Hill was going on here? Nevermind... They had bigger fish to fry, like getting these people out of the place. The Spartan, alongside the kids, climbed back aboard the Humvee after hearing Itami struggle with the kid on his lap and, advancing further down the road, all seemed normal up to the point of...

Hearing a fucking roar coming from the sky...

The massive Dragon they saw on the earlier night appeared. Orange shell and white, counter-shading belly, it moved ahead at incredible top speeds. Jane looked back and barked something loudly through her mic in swedish, then turned and said it in English "FLY! WE'VE GOT INCOMING HOT! BIRD ON OUR SEVEN O'CLOCK!" And the pilots turned and descended, letting the Spartans drop into the fight. The squadron loaded weapons and moved ahead, then John signaled the heavy-weapon carriers, soldiers who carried Sparrowhawk SAM/SSM Rocket Launchers, to move ahead of the line. The soldiers, armed with the infamous double-tube UNSC SPnKr Rocket Launcher, took off ahead, knelt and shouldered the lock-on weapons, then aimed at the dragon.

Kat, manning the chaingun, turned the turret and waved the driver over to the side to aid the Spartans. She grinned, cocked the gun, feeding a round into the chamber and barked "COME AT ME!" Then squeezed the trigger, gunning at the dragon's thick metallic skin. The bullets pinged off it like they were ping-pong balls. She saw three rockets fly off from the Spartans in front of her, leaving contrails of white pluming smoke in the air, but the Dragon, somehow, managed to dodge each.

"Fuck..." Murmured Kat, then she tapped her mic "HELIOS 3-1! What the hell are you and your boys doing up there? You gonna gun this sucker with 30-mils or are you?"

Almost immediately, she heard the roars of the Falcons' Guns and saw bullets striking the enemy's armor. Two rockets flew off from one of the vehicles, that had missile pods attached beside the gun, and struck the monster. It roared in anger as explosions enveloped its body and roared, then sent a stream of fire down range, making the Spartans and JSDF Dodge almost immediately. Tracers left the guns' barrels and struck the creature, as did multiple bullets and hundreds of other small munitions. The Spartans saw the newly-recovered girl, Rory Mercury, dodge through a Dragon's strike and attack it, lunging herself up at it.

The young Elven girl had woken up aboard the truck and looked to Six and Itami, then started pointing at her eye as she pounced out of her covers. Now stark-naked, she kept pointing at her eye, until everyone finally understood the word. Six nodded to Itami, cocked his DMR and fired accurate shots toward the creature's eyes, making it roar a bellowing roar of rage and hatred.

Opening fire with every weapon the UNSC Had in their arsenal did little to slow the gigantic fucker down, as he just kept coming. Sweeping low, the UNSC Falcons gunned at it, shell after shell striking its thick hide. Shepard roared as she steadied her Spartan Laser onto her shoulder and aimed it. She could hear the hiss as the weapon charged up and saw the targeting beam pinned on the creature. It looked toward her too, noticing the target laser painting its red hide. Jane gasped, then rolled to the side as the Dragon breathed fire toward her, then she enhanced her shield to OVERSHIELD Mode, soaking up most of the heat damage and charring part of her armor. She stood up and steadied the Laser Weapon again, squeezed the trigger and it fired. The Lance of energy arched and struck a wall past the creature, melting it as she painted diagonally onto it, trying to hit the fire-breathing lizard.

"FUCK!" She barked, then took a knee and slid the weapon on her back. She looked toward the carts, which were getting burned. She remembered seeing her home on the colony of Arcadia under siege by smaller bastards like these guys, while she was nowhere near the place to help... She clutched her Assault Rifle tightly in her hands, dived out of cover and aimed the weapon from a prone position, then squeezed the trigger, roaring. The 32 bullets left the gun incredibly quickly, hitting the enemy Dragon's heavily armored back. She groaned as she slammed a fresh clip into her rifle, then she saw a contrail of smoke leave the moving Humvee aboard which Itami was and Rory pushing the Dragon in its direction.

The round struck and detonated, tearing the monster's arm off. It bellowed in pain and rage, then flapped its wings and took off into the distance. Shepard pumped her fist up into the sky, then sighed in relief and looked toward the Humvee and gave a thumbs up and rushed toward the carts that had been burned, to try and help. The Falcons landed beside them and the pilots left the cockpits, with medical gear to boot, followed by the JSDF and the military.

* * *

The road back to Alnus was a quiet one. The squad chose to leave some citizens behind, as not even with the Troop Hog they could carry them. The Aircraft were chock-full of of Spartans and Six, alongside John and Jane, was hanging on to the outside of the Humvee, cradling his Assault Rifle in his arms. He looked to Itami, then asked "Lieutenant, you mentioned something about 'books', when talking about us and our fellow Spartans."

Itami smiled weakly as he looked at Six and said "Y-Ya need to see to believe, Six..." And left it at that. The Spartan was suddenly intrigued. What the hell could've the Japanese known about them prior to coming into contact with them. There were many questions the Spartan would need an answer too and he was going to get them one way or another... He knew that much.

Rolling across a hilltop, the sight of the UNSC/JSDF Camp appeared ahead of them. It had developed relatively quickly in the days they were there. It turned into what seemed to be a star-like fortress, with a dozen guns placed around its outer walls and hundreds of guards around the place. Aside from the usual UNSC Warthogs and dozens of other vics patrolling the perimeter, set up at the gate the squad was heading to, there was an oddity of a battle vehicle. Bipedal in nature, with bent, heavily armored legs, what seemed to be energy flickering around it, gunmetal-green painted like anything UNSC Marines have and with two arms, both carrying weapons. One had a 30mm Chaingun and the other had a 4-pod rocket launcher.

The UNSC HRUNTING/YGGDRASSIL Mark IX Armor Defense System, colloquially named the Mantis by the UNSC Jarheads, was a young Marine Armored Corps soldier's best friend. Manned only by him and with easy controls, the damn thing had a Hardlight shield all across its hull and, with the latest one-ups in the UNSC Arsenal, the shields had tripled strength, matching that of the newest UNSC Battleships in terms of armor and defense.

"Wow..." Murmured Rory, looking at the armored vehicle with awe as it walked, under control by one UNSC Soldier. "That's a big weapon..." She looked to Jackson and Dubbo, then asked in English, enough for them to understand "What's that thing?" And both of them stared in awe. Jackson nodded, took her helmet off and grinned, flipping it upward and placing it to her side "That beauty there," She pointed at the Walker Tank "Is the UNSC HRUNTING/YGGDRASSIL MARK Nine Armor Defense System. We call her the Mantis and she, with her over a million sisters are the most beautiful thing to happen to the UNSC Since the Spartans."

"You have a million of those things, Jackson?" Itami asked, looking back at the girl. She kept her grin, sending a thumbs up Itami's way, then gleefully answered "Aye! UNSC Standard-Issue nowadays! No Covie scum can mess with us anymore since the Prophets fell and they're fuckin' scattering!" She looked to Dubbo "Ain't that right, Chips?"

The man grinned too, then nodded "Aye. We've been kicking their asses around the Halo Rings and back for well over 6 years now... God bless, we recovered the Chief too. Was there, on Requiem with the First Infinity Battlegroup when it happened. Still remember getting ourselves pulled into that fuckin' vortex that was the mouth of that Shield World."

"We're clear to go in." Six said toward the group, then nodded "Just talked to HighCom. Admiral Lasky and Lieutenant Palmer are currently having a meeting with Lieutenant-General Hamaza, to discuss the possibility of Extra Troop Deployments and enlarging the base for several Mining Companies from our world."

"Sounds important. Be sure to tell us what it was about." Itami said nonchalantly, then waved everyone forward. The vehicles entered the gates and people started disembarking almost immediately within the Motorpool. Scanning their surroundings, Rory, as she identified herself, could see well over a dozen Mantises and hundreds of other UNSC and JSDF Vehicles, lined up per type, from the lightly armored 'Hogs and Humvees, to the big and deadly Scorpions and Type-74 MBTs. Among the Scorpions, there were also a pair of Heavy-Battle Grizzly MBTs. Faster and with twin guns, these damn things were usually at the spearhead of the UNSC Armored Corps.

Three things were forming up in Rory's mind by now, as she grinned heavily.

#1. The UNSC and JSDF Are here in force. That's awesome.

#2. If the Empire messed with them, they'd be screwed beyond comprehension.

#3. She and whoever else came from the village would help them kick ass in a hundred new ways.

She heard music playing in English, through the speakers set up around both light posts and everything else, then grinned. She started walking with the others toward what would soon be their homes, she hoped...


	5. First missions of the Youth Platoon

_**AN:So... This chapter's gonna be a fastball to introduce a new set of characters to the crew, specifically, Orphan children(Well, Teenagers) Ages 16 to 19, part of the UNSC Armed Corps. You'll see'em below.**_

 ** _Other than that, a response to DisPleased about his review(Since ya have no bloody account to PM you onto):For the council... Fuck no. The soldiers are Gimmick Troops and twins after all. You won't see an Asari, Turian or some other Ayy Serving with the Humans, other than Tuka, Rory and the canon girls of this anime. And possibly the Arbiter at some point._**

 ** _As for the Dragon, yeah... Think a bit. Uncoordinated fire without coverage from a UNSC Spotter unit of some kind, or a SPYSAT, or something else that could mark the fast-moving bastard could result in unnecessary civilian and friendly casualties. Plus, artillery shells coming from SPACE tend to gain velocity and... Well, higher damage output in general, like Meteorites and other such celestial bodies do. As for 'Why no MAC Guns or Nukes'? Fucking hell man, do you WANT the entire planet to be hammered by that? A MAC, even at its lowest setting, would do two things:_**

 ** _a. Fry the loving fuck out of every single electronic device the UNSC/JSDF Units would be carrying due to the EMP Blast necessary to launch such a MASSIVE Slug carrying over thanks to the velocity of the round;_**

 ** _b. Make a crater the size of Chicago on its lowest setting(Don't take Halo Wars into account... It was said that even the Spirit's MAC Guns were far more powerful even on that low a setting, but were dulled down there just not to be OP), ESPECIALLY if fired from the Infinity, which houses 2 Appropriately-named Forerunner-enhanced SUPER-MACs in its front-side superstructure._**

 ** _And Nukes? Don't make me go there._**

 ** _Thanks if you still decided to keep reading and can look over these, but really, simply using Space-side ordnance to take out a lizard, even a Dragon, is a waste of ammo. You want a job done? You send in a UNSC Armored brigade._**

* * *

UNSC Marines patrolled the outside of the base near Alnus hill as an Elite squadron of UNSC Soldiers arrived. Three dozen Warthogs, alongside about 15 Pelicans, moved into the base at best speed, each of them bearing a number and marking for the UNSC's Youth Army, a unit of soldiers raised by their own request after the Human-Covenant war, in which 99.9% of them had lost relatives, from brothers to parents, leaving them orphan. Aboard the leading vehicle, in the front seat, Chief Petty Officer Kyle Upham, the commander of the 77th Marine Platoon of said army, swept the base with his gaze.

"Safeties in place, Marines!" The boy yelled, clicking the safety on his MA5C on and looking about at the JSDF Soldiers on the battlements of the star-shaped mini-city fort. He continued, then yelled "We're not here to kill people! Not yet, anyhow!" And he looked in the back, at his CO. The girl, Lieutenant Shino 'Sinon' Asada, or the Blue Rose of the UNSC, stood, cradling her SRS-99/100 Bolt-action 50 cal sniper and looked to Kyle. She nodded to him, her indigo eyes gleaming with excitement, then smiled and said "Good point, Chief! We got a helluva lot more to do here than kill people!"

"That's right, Sinon!" Smirked the boy, then he stood up and looked to his Marines, grabbed the PA Speaker linked to the entire Convoy and started talking "All of us know the sense of loss! Of how it is to see someone dear die before ya before you can do anything to save'em! We were born too early to fight in the Human-Covenant war, but not too late to help the UNSC With its other unfinished business! From fighting the Covie Remnant and gettin' our payback, to our current situation where we're out ta fuckin' avenge New Arcadia, we're all here with a purpose, Marines! TO KICK MAJOR ASS!"

" _HOO-RAH!"_ Chanted the regiment with pride, making Kyle smirk.

"We're here, now, for the sake of our people! Many of you new faces lost a family member on the attack and are here to hand major kicking of ass to the bastards that did what they did! I bid you all a welcome to the Youth Corps! We're no Hitler Youth! HELL NO! We fight for the people and by the people, SO LET ME HEAR YOU NEWBLOODS!" Cried the marine CPO.

"HOO-RAH!" Chanted many of them, but not as many as before.

"Welcome to New Eden! Welcome to Firebase Alnus! Welcome to your new homes for the time being, Marines! Lasky's ordered us into the field and we're out for the enemy's blood! TODAY, WE REST! TOMORROW, WE HUNT! HOO-RAH?!"

"HOO-RAH! HOO-RAH! HOO-RAH!" They all yet again cried, with renewed vigor.

The UNSC Transports entered the firebase's perimeter, to be greeted by the massive motorpool where UNSC Scorpion MBTs sat alongside the JSDF's bigger tanks and other miscellaneous vehicles, including Warthogs. Upon parking within their allocated spaces, the troops disembarked from the Warthogs and all lined up, five hundred soldiers of the UNSC Youth Corps. Kyle got out of the lead 'Hog first and walked alongside the lines of Battle-dress-clad children, all friends of his, some older, some younger. The boy himself was no older than 17 years old, the oldest in the corps, so he came up as the soldier and commander, of course, having seniority... He'd actually seen combat on Reach and on Earth, Reach as a civilian, Earth as a message delivery boy and Corpsman for the crews down near New Mombasa and in the Crow's Nest.

Examining each of his soldiers, all with their weapons out and safeties on, he smiled, nodded, then said "Alright, boys and gals! Dismissed! Find your barracks!" And he looked to Sinon "With me, Asa. We need to talk to LtGen. Hazama about our future endeavors."

"Aye, sir." Sinon said, clipping her helmet to her side and placing her Officer's Cap on the top of her head, to cover part of her chin-length turquoise hair. The two started walking out of the Motorpool, to the sight of the massive base outside, where hundreds of off-duty troops milled about on their daily routines, alongside Non-Com personnel from the UNSC Ships and JSDF.

"So, what's your take on New Eden?" Kyle asked his friend. The sniper girl nodded, then said "It's a big place... Certainly a nice one to visit..." She smirked, then looked to him "If it weren't for the killer Empire out to get both us and the Jietai, that is."

"True that." Answered the boy, then he chuckled and nodded.

The two's eyes were caught by soldiers clad in black battledress uniform, training for enhanced deployment from Pelicans. Each of this squad was carrying a black battledress with the ODST Words on it, an M7/Caseless Silenced SMG and several other pieces of heavy gear, including Jump-packs that allowed them to outmaneuver enemies and engage from a height. The Orbital Drop Shock Troopers were helping train JSDF Paratroopers in the use of the UNSC Battle-issue Jetpacks.

"HELLJUMPER, HELLJUMPER WHERE'VE YA BEEN!?" Smirked Kyle as he sung, raising his fist.

"FEET FIRST INTO HELL AND BACK AGAIN!" Answered the ODSTs in a proud chant, all of them smiling back. Their Lieutenant, a woman by the name of Parisa, walked up to the kids, greeted them, then nodded and said "Kiddos."

"El-Tee." Said Sinon, smiling. "Good to see you, miss Parisa."

"Likewise, Asada." Nodded the girl. "I hear Hazama wanted to talk to you two?"

"Yeah. Our unit and us, in particular... About some exploration of another continent." Answered Kyle, nodding to Parisa. "JSOC Has SPYSATS flying over the place daily... It reminds me of Europe honestly, but during the Great War."

"Why?" Asked Parisa with curiosity.

"Whole lotta Battlements and trenches, alongside dugouts and such... Far as I saw, but no combat." Answered Kyle, nodding to his friend. Parisa nodded, then waved to them and said "I guess I'll leave ya two to it. Have to help train some Jietai Paras in using our oh-so-advanced Jetpacks. Enjoy your stay at Alnus Fort." And with that, she saluted them and ran back to training the rookies.

Sinon grinned, then said "Think she'll ever know about the Chief?"

"Let's not spoil the surprise, shall we?" Kyle answered smugly. "C'mon, Hazama's waiting on us."

Entering a building occupied by JSDF Officials, the JSDF's side of the Joint Special Ops Command, or JSOC, the duo took the left and entered a conference center. There, they saw a massive oak table, with maps sprawled across it, the entire Special Region zone that has been mapped via SPY-Sat. Good, that meant they had somewhat of a basic understanding of every location. A man in his 40s stood up, saluted the two, whom, upon seeing the three-star eppauletes, saluted back promptly.

"Lieutenant General Hazama, SIR!" Barked Kyle, nodding to him. "Chief Petty Officer Kyle Upham and Lieutenant Shino Asada, commanders of the 77th Youth Platoon, at your service!"

"A Youth Platoon? Admiral Lasky mentioned you two in his communiques. Take a seat." Said Hazama calmly, showing the two to a couch. Kyle and Sinon took a seat, calmly, then looked to Hazama and Kyle said "Far as I got from our chat with ol' Lasky, you need us to do something."

"Indeed..." Hazama nodded. "Sorry to send you out so early, but I require you and your Platoon to... To deploy in humanitarian aid."

Kyle cocked his eyebrow up, then asked "Alright... Where?"

Hazama, surprised himself by the development, asked "Wow... Are you sure you do not wish a combat assignment?" To which Kyle shook his head and said "While we'd like to give the Imps our best 'Welcome to the UNSC' gift basket in the shape of explosives, priorities come first. What do you need us to do? Help build shelters? Assist in the evacuation of some villages?"

"Both." The man nodded, then said "I figure that, since you and your officer are commanding a platoon, you could split the efforts. You take half and help in building up the civilian village here, whilst miss Sinon deploys to help evacuate the Civilians. As far as I understood, near the village it was... Hell. It could've been that fire-breathing Dragon Recon-3 mentioned, but I'm not sure... Aerial Recon reports heavy damage to the village, a big town."

Kyle gave the General a simple nod, then asked, tilting his head to the maps "I don't see the problem. Will there be any other units deploying to help us?" and Hazama shook his head "Aside from UNSC troops, no..." to which Kyle grinned, then said "Consider it done."

"Very well. Dismissed." The man said, saluting. The two stood up, saluted, then nodded and walked out of the room. Sinon looked to Kyle, then asked "Are you sure you don't want to take on the out-base assignment?" And her friend nodded, then said "Aye. Good chance to prove yourself as a commander for your own squad, Sinon. Get moving to the V-Bay and wake everyone else up. I'll be going to that Village to help construction."

"Alright..." Sinon sighed, then she swiveled around and snapped a crisp salute. "Good luck, Chief."

Kyle smirked, then saluted back and said "Likewise, Asa. Try not to get into trouble." And, with that, he walked away.

* * *

 ** _-Play Soundtrack:Sabaton-Light in the Black-_**

 ** _5 kilometers out from the target Village. Aboard Pelican Echo 4-19._**

Sinon watched from the back of the vehicle as, across the hillside roads, UNSC Warthogs and a convoy of Japanese supply vehicles moved at best speed. The blue sky above was nearly clear, nearly in the sense that there were 12 other UNSC Pelicans on the move. The supply trucks also had, among others, red cross-bearing vehicles. Ambulances. Wherever they were going must've been hit hard. Sinon sighed, cocking her weapon and slinging it on her back. She looked ahead, to the UNSC pilot Carol Rawley, Foehammer, or Echo 4-19, who gave a thumbs up, then spoke.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, temperature outside is a cool 45 degrees, our weapons are loaded and we're nearing our landing site. Strap in and grab your gear, 'cause we're about to hit the ground." She said in her usually jovial tone. Dozens of clicks could be heard from within the UNSC Air Vehicle as the Youth Corps readied their weapons. The UNSC Ship also began to slow down, with the others following suite.

The touchdown was smooth and, from there, the squad marched over the last hill on foot as the Pelicans swiveled around. The place hadn't been hit by what they thought. Imperial forces had been through here... Sinon stood, eyes wide at the horrific sight. Dozens of people in the streets of the village, dozens more wounded, stab wounds and such and their village, burned by the Imperials' torches. God knew what reason the bastards had to do this, but Sinon knew one thing as she waved her men down to help, with the supply trucks moving in...

 _She wouldn't let it go on_...

UNSC soldiers, followed by JSDF medics and their own combat surgeons deployed the mobile hospital trucks and ORs. The UNSC soldiers moved rubble that had fallen upon some of the people. Two UNSC marines moved in toward a burned house and came out of the place, carrying a young girl in their arms, ashes covering her little face as she held on dearly to the green soldier who came to save her, her eyes closed as she cried. Two more Marines pulled out her parents... Both of which had been killed by the smoke within the house.

The JSDF medics loaded the wounded they had stabilized into the trucks, while the UNSC Pelicans landed with more supplies and even more room to fit the wounded in. Sinon guided the soldiers and the people who can still walk, sending them after whomever else had been hurt within the village. She took one of the Mongooses the Pelicans had with them and rolled across the dirt road in the middle of the village, following a pair of Marines who swept the area with their ARs before the doctors and Corpsmen moved in. The girl skidded to a halt at an exit plaque near the town's northern gate. She got off the mongoose, took her helmet off, letting her blue hair blow in the wind, then withdrew her knife and started carving some words in. She knew how it was... To be rescued by soldiers and sent out while your home... Your WORLD that you knew since first opening your eyes, be it small or big, burned ahead of you... And you felt powerless...

 ** _"A Cry for Help, a distant whisper..."_**

The troops hauled dozens of stretchers and body bags out of town, Youth Corps soldiers helped load kids as young as the age of 5 on board evacuation transports, alongside thier parents, who were either on stretchers or well enough to care for them. The combat surgeons applied medication, bandages and other items to heal the wounds and modified Warthogs drove into town with trailers on which to load bodies, or stretchers, for the doctors that were still in there to put the patients on. Several combat-ready hogs aimed their Gatlings at the sky, just in case, all whilst Sinon was carving the next line... A tear forming by her eye. She stood up after finishing her writing and walked toward a destroyed building...

 ** _"A foreign land has called upon our name..."_**

Sinon stood there, horrified as she picked up a doll from the ground. A wooden doll that a father had carved for his daughter, with wool hair and clothing and everything to match. IT was a meticulously hand-made piece... But now, it was missing its hair and one of its legs... Sinon swallowed, steadying herself from crying, placed the toy in one of her chest combat rig's empty pockets and let it there, then saw on the floor, a pair of torches and a carbonized body... Whose armor was charred... A god damn Imperial Officer. She clenched her fist, wishing she could hit him, or to have shot him herself... But he suffered while being burned in the hell that he himself unleashed. She looked away...

From the inside of the destroyed home, a crying child...

 ** _"We were sent into Hell, to reach for the Heaven..."_**

Sinon threw her helmet and weapon aside, running into the charred building. The smell of burned flesh assaulted her nostrils and her heart beat like an Assault Rifle. The girl rushed toward a smaller room in the back, to find a pair of bodies, burned, slumped on the floor, carbonized... Two adults. In a small bed that had barely been touched by the fire before it was snuffed out, probably due to lack of oxygen, lay a young girl. Her clothing was burned and her face, covered by soot. Her right leg was burned badly enough that she couldn't even walk, her skin peeling off her bone. Sinon placed a hand on the young girl's head as she cried a weak cry. The girl must've been exhausted... Sinon ran a hand through her silver hair, then pulled her back toward her, while bandaging her leg, and looked into her eyes. She was a shocking specimen of human... crimson eyes were filled with tears, with sadness as she stared at Sinon through the black ash covering her face. The young sniper exhaled, trying to hold herself from crying, then pulled out the doll from her pocket, handing it to the girl, who looked at it in surprise. She took the doll steadily, hugging it close as she sobbed softly. Sinon sighed, stood up and picked the girl up and out of the bed, walking outside...

 ** _"And now we serve in the dark, as their light in the black!"_**

The sniper of the 77th walked out, to the sight of UNSC doctors treating a pair of other kids. She ran to the medics and handed the girl over to the doctors, placing her on the floor and coordinating with them to treat her while they dealt with the two other kids. The evacuation efforts from the town continued without hindrance. This thing... This... This _War Crime_... It would not go unpunished.

The UNSC and JSDF would see to that...

 ** _"To the Empire, from the UNSC and JSDF... Your unwitting murder will be payed in due time."_**

 ** _"Lieutenant Asada Shino, "Sinon". 77th UNSC Youth Platoon"_**


	6. Shattering the Camps

_**UNSC-JSDF Base. Evening.**_

Within moments of hearing what had happened in the village, the entire Battalion medical corps was mobilized with the JSDF's surgeons and doctors to help within the main hospital and outlying tents. Kyle and twelve Youth Platoon infantrymen, rifles loaded, moved toward the landing area for the Pelicans, watching as the air vehicles approached from afar. The boy was boiling with anger from the noise he'd heard. The fucking bastards dared to hurt their own in 'scorched earth', just to keep the Jietai and them away. The UNSC was NOT going to take this lying down.

"Prep three Broadswords for takeoff and tell Polaski and her girls to prep for the a bomb run. The Imps have encampments nearby, from what UAV and SPYSAT footage showed us. We're gonna hit back... _HARD_." Kyle ordered to two of his adjutants, gripping his rifle tightly. Two younger soldiers nodded, then stepped off and hauled ass toward the pilots' quarters on the tarmac's left side. He looked to his Radio op and said "Contact the _Infinity_ and tell'em to give us access to a couple of MACs just in case. I want six of the enemy's FOBs KO'd as a message."

"Sir, yes sir!" The girl nodded, immediately taking her com system out and calling "India-Golf, India-Golf, this is X-Ray, we're in need of ordnance upon request. Deployment of TYPE-3 Weaponry on two targets. Precision shot. Will lase targets from safe distance." She paused for a moment, then smirked "Thank you. X-Ray out." And she looked to Kyle "We have our ordnance, sir! Just have to paint the target for the guns to strike. The Admiral has given his approval."

"Understood." Kyle nodded. He watched as the final Pelican descended, with Sinon walking off of it next to a stretcher. She gazed at him, eyes bloodshot, probably from crying... And the girl on the stretcher in a nasty shape. He nodded to Sinon and, as they passed, took her by the arm and said "We're going in to take out enemy encampments. Five are by ordnance strike and one... One we're hitting ourselves."

Sinon stared at him, eyes wide. Her stern gaze immediately returned and she nodded, drawing her sniper. "Right behind you." She said in a calm voice. "Wait, how the hell did the Admiral approve of this?"

"He did. Not sure why, but he fucking did." Kyle responded as he boarded the Pelican with the rest of the platoon. Sinon gazed at him, worried, but proceeded to sit down. Worries would have to wait... The group head the sonic boom of reentry as the two Pelicans the group requisitioned took off. CAS. Three damned Broadswords were loaded for bombardment. Self-guiding bombs, AGMs, tubes of unguided rockets and the twin 35mm chainguns.

"By God..." One of the troopers, a greenhorn, exclaimed, eyes wide. Kyle picked up his radio and said " _Phantom, this is X-Ray. Thanks for joining us. Be advised:You are to split up and target following coords. Spot civilians, you don't shoot. It's why we're here... But if there's no Civvie target on the ground, hammer the places we've marked. FIRESTORM. Burn EVERYTHING."_

" _Copy that. Phantom Lead, Polaski here. We've got our targets painted. FIRESTORM Protocol, out."_ The voice of the young pilot, Sheila Polaski, responded calmly. The platoons saw the three bomber craft split up, followed by the two Pelicans going their separate ways, to their targets... Some twenty kilometers away from the villages that had been hit by the Imperial torch squads lay a line of enemy encampments. Wooden fortresses designed as outposts, with a few hundred soldiers within their walls.

Two soldiers lay on lookout on top of the main walls of one such fortress, gazing left and right on the ground for anything that could give them a warning. An incessant droning noise had started moments ago and it was just annoying to them both. The two kept looking up and around, to source the sound, but found no purchase. The sky was clear(Aside form the few clouds that gathered) and it was also nearly night...

Something burned...

A massive, echoing thunder resonated throughout the base, making the walls shake with stress. Looking back, the two Centurion soldiers gasped, eyes wide at a massive crater that had appeared in the middle of the camp. Echoing thunder resounded once again and the howls of what felt like wolves, or daemonic beasts, along with flaming trails of smoke appeared overhead. Impacts, explosions and body parts being flung about, even entire tents burning, with the men inside.

The two soldiers fell, gunned down by the 35mm Cannons of Phantom Lead. Polaski looked at her handiwork from within her fighter's cockpit. The entire enemy camp was burning, soldiers laying dead and dying on the dirt. She smirked, then reported "X-Ray. Phantom Lead. First camp hit! Enemy Casualties confirmed. No survivors, repeat, no survivors." She then looked to her left, to see two more burning camps and her fellow squadron wingmates turning about. "2 and 3 confirmed direct hits. Visuals confirm enemy camps are ablaze. FIRESTORM."

The response came promptly and jovially " _Good job, Phantom. Operation Wake-Up Call successful! Watch the second-to-last base from the sky."_ Then she heard the call that sent shivers down her spine" _India-Golf, India-Golf! Lasing targets. Platoons one and two confirm DANGER CLOSE authorization. Mike-Alpha-Charlie pods, clear to fire, half-strength!"_

 _"Copy that. DANGER CLOSE. Mike-Alpha-Charlie firing, half-strength. Might lose comms for a bit. Hold on to your helmets, down there!"_

On the ground, Kyle and Sinon watched the last two bases which were being lased from a safe distance, the former with a smirk on his face as he looked through binoculars. Sinon looked through the scope of her sniper at the sight, as stones lifted up into the sky due to the powerful Magnetic field left by the MAC Cannon. From the sky burst a shining shell, burning white-hot... And suddenly, the entire earth shook and shuddered. The grounds of the two camps detonated, sending boiling dirt and body parts up into the heavens. The shockwave soon hit the forest, a massive gust of wind that made the clothing on people flail about.

Standing up, Kyle scanned the two camps and saw the places were now nothing but massive craters, 2km wide. The boy sighed as he and the others walked toward the last camp, loaded up on gear and ammo. The team decided to just stroll toward the main gate of the base, with Sinon looking about. "They let us use high-powered ordnance here, but we couldn't take out that flying lizard with'em?"

Kyle shrugged and said "NORMANDY didn't have the luxury to lock onto the fucker, it seemed. Hell, they were taking literal fire from the bastard."

"Damn." the sniper girl said, leaning her rifle on her shoulder. "We sure there weren't any civilians in those camps the MACs blew apart?"

"I'd asked other scout teams just before gathering all y'all.. Nothing in sight. Apparently the SDF has had those camps targeted for a while." Kyle explained. "There's also no UAV footage showing no civilian captures inside, confirmed by Heat Detection Scans. Remember? We got birds surveying every part of the Empire."

Sinon nodded as the team walked toward the main gate. A demo team member placed a couple of bombs onto the door, then showed everyone to stand back, before detonating them. Kyle smirked, then looked ahead and started singing " _From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli, we fight our country's battles in the air, on land and sea!"_

Sinon smirked, then continued as they marched inside, watching as Imperial soldiers dropped sword, bow, arrow and shield in front of the marching brigade " _First to fight for right and freedom and to keep our honor clean! We are proud to claim the title of UNSC Marines! Our flag's unfurled to every breeze from dawn to setting sun! We have fought in every clime'n'place where we could take a gun! In the snow of far-off northern worlds and in sunny tropic scenes, you will find us always on the job, the UNSC Marines! Here's health to ye and to our corps which we are proud to serve! In many a strife we fought for life and never lost our nerve!"_

The rest of the team joined in on the finishing choir " _If the Army and Navy ever look on heaven's scenes, they'll find the streets are guarded by the UNSC Marines!"_ as they took their helmets off, looking at the captured enemy units. A few soldiers with pieces of artillery, a few corpsmen and a great many swordsmen... Two of which were idiotic enough to be rushing them. The pair were wearing wolf pelts on their heads... Kyle smirked, then drew his pistol as the two continued to charge headlong into their weapons and, with two clicks of the trigger, two bastards fell with holes right between their eyes. The other soldiers around them, simple ones, gasped and one fell to his knees, cowering in fear as Kyle slung his pistol back into its holster.

"Drag these fuckers out of here." He said, then he tapped his microphone and said "Alnus base, this is X-Ray. Requesting evacuation if you can hear us. Bases eliminated and we've secured POWs for ONI to talk to." to which a three-beat tone sounded off and finally, CENT-COM's voice came over " _Roger that, X-Ray. We're deploying a Pelican now to aid in your exfiltration. Alnus out."_

"Well, taking this base was boring..." Sinon sighed, walking beside Kyle and looking at the hundreds of prisoners being dragged out by just 20 Marines. Kyle nodded and said "I know, right?" letting out a chuckle. The sniper girl looked to Kyle, then said "Thanks." to which the boy shrugged and said "Whatever for, no problem. Let's go... Central's probably waiting on us to give info."

 ** _Back at base, the Refugee Camp_**

"WHAT?!" Kuribayashi burst, looking at Johnson as the Sergeant-Major had just told them about Operation Firestorm and its success. The Afro-American nodded and said "And the kids kicked ass, too. All six camps are destroyed and they even took up to 600 prisoners." and he lit his cigar, before taking a puff from it and adding "Of course, the other camps are pretty much crater, leveled or burning."

The little girl the Spartans had rescued from that rampaging horse, Lelei La Lelena, asked in Latin " _What did he say?"_ to which the SDF Itami, still somewhat shocked, responded _"Kids your age take down six Imperial camps..."_ and Lelei gasped. She looked ahead to Johnson, then took out an English dictionary for children and asked "You sure?" to which the man smirked and nodded.

"When're they coming back?" Kurokawa asked, looking at Johnson, who responded "Now. They just got aboard Hocus' Pelican." before adding "We're not the peace-loving type. We help civilians and rip the skulls out of the fuckers who threaten the civilian populace for their own gains. Hearts and Minds for the people, bombs and bullets for the enemy." and with that, he left the awed Recon Team 3 to their own.

"Damn..." Kuribayashi smirked, crossing her arms "The UNSC means fuckin' business."

"We gotta get these kids here to help, so they can tell us about this stuff." Kurata suggested, to which Itami nodded, smiling, and said "Yeah, works for me, I guess. We might also need a hand building up this camp, so you know." before standing up and checking his Type 64 Howa rifle. The team nodded, then Itami said "I'll probably go meet their CO before anything... Make sure he's understanding an all."


	7. Operation:COUNTERSTRIKE Part 1

Sixteen UNSC fighters escorted a swath of 10 Longswords, lined up in phalanx formation, as they flew high above the ground. UAV and SPYSAT located the Imperial Capital and several massive military training centers around it. Operation:COUNTERSTRIKE, payback for those hundred burned villages, had begun. The training centers were each to be targeted by the main echelon of the strike force, approximately 10 squadrons of Longswords under guard by Broadswords, while UNSC military assets on the ground were to assault and take over local towns and villages, save them from the Imperials' purge.

Charlie Lead, Flight commander MacLeland of the UNSC _Roma_ flew with squadron 307. The young man kept his eyes locked on the Broadsword's Radar as he flew in lead of the Formation. The aircraft were at well over 10000 feet, their bombardiers and gunners aiming for a dive-bombing attack on the enemy positions. First up was a military fort at a crossroads between six different areas, one the UNSC needed to take and hold, whether it be rubble or intact. They weren't gonna risk anyone... Air bombardment it was.

The sky ahead was clear, darkening above them thanks to their height. The pilot cued his mic, then spoke "All wings, we're approaching the target area. Reduce throttle to 40% and prepare to deploy firebombs. Take photos of nearby cities if you've got eyes on. Command wants every settlement tagged and cataloged before the Sixth Armored pushes through here."

" _Roger that._ " Several voices backlogged into his comm system. He knew each of them. The fighter pilot looked down at the tiny targets below. His radar beeped with the IFF tags of all other bombers and fighter units, a bit over one hundred aircraft, a hundred and sixty or so, maybe more. The settlement below, the one closest to the fort, as far as he heard from teams on the ground, was called Italica, a small duchy lead by a kid. Its army was nonexistent thanks to the JGSDF wiping them the hell out during the first battle for Alnus.

He sighed. More heads to add to the casualty count. He cleared his thoughts, then revved up his miniguns and checked weapons, as his Wingman joined up with him. The new pilot, Flight Warrant Officer Marc Rivers, was inexperienced, but he still served as Mac's Wingman. He'd get his ass home and scold him for any mistake. Any. One mistake, no matter how tiny, could be fatal in the air. Mac learnt that the hard way during the Human-Covenant war's waning years, when he was just a rookie warrant officer himself.

"Approaching target area." He told the bombers and fighters. He gazed back, to see the bomb bays of the slim, delta-wing bomber craft split open. A mechanical arm extended, holding approximately 12 large JDAM bunker-busters. The officer arranged his silver-grey flight suit, patted down his shoulder badge, symbolizing the 307th's black hawk emblem, then activated his HUD, locking the opaque visor down over his transparent one.

Numbers flashed and danced in his eyes, lit up emerald-green and shapes, distinct but similar, coagulated. Crosshair, altitude checkup, Lock-on, IFF tags, speedometer, ammunition for the Twin Thirties and every bomb and rocket he had on the bird. Hanging above the crosshair for the cannon, two circles, one small and one large, with a concentric center of a small, thin cross, was the countdown/distance indicator. It'd gone into the red. The pilot tapped his microphone, then said "All wings, 10 seconds out, repeat, ten seconds out. MASTER ARM, ON."

He flicked a switch and felt the vehicle shake a bit, as the safeties on the guns and bombs fell. He saw MASTER ARM flash onto his HUD once, then vanish off the already-cluttered emerald writing. He counted down as he switched to his own two four-hundred kilo JDAMs. A targeting screen appeared on his HUD, on the left. He switched to thermal and saw the scattering Imperials on the ground. With a grin, the UNSC pilot lased the center of the camp and counted down the final "Five! Four! Three..." He tensed his finger on the bomb release, keeping the IR Laser tag on target "Two... One."

Two thunks, two decoupled bombs. He saw them on the HUD camera. Slim, aerodynamic shapes with fins on their rears, adjusting each dive to match the locked IR tag, a small building in the walled-up fort. The other bombardiers and pilots called out "Bombs away, Fox-3." one after the other. One bomb, or two, from each aircraft. He kept his eyes on his own bombs, then switched from Heat Detection to normal view and zoomed in, to see the scrambling soldiers in silver armors, holding spears, bows and arrows, staring up at the sky, afraid.

The first bombs made contact... His own.

Sixteen men were broken, killed by the impact of bomb one. Bomb two made twenty more casualties and broke a building. A dozen other bombs followed, aimed at different locations around the base. Explosions flashed, gusts of wind and shockwaves broke windows, the walls crumbled and houses fell. Soldiers, men, were pulverized by the sheer strength of the airstrike.

Mac grinned behind his mask, then tapped his com and said "Good hit, good effect on target..." then switched to the HQ frequency and reported " _Infinity_ and Alnus actual. First strikes confirmed. Operation COUNTERSTRIKE is in effect. Repeat, Operation COUNTERSTRIKE is in effect!"

* * *

 ** _Alnus Hill refugee camp._**

Kyle walked through the camp with a Latin dictionary, clad only in his UNSC standard camouflage fatigues. He had his sidearm by his hip as he repeated pronouncing some words in Latin. He looked about time to time, at the hastily built barracks that served as home for the refugees. A reminder of how his life was after the fall of his home back during the final years of the War. He'd been a Youth Volunteer since before the Fall of Reach, but he'd reached his peak in the battle there and on Earth, delivering messages and fighting with a gun in his hand whenever necessary. Just like all the others...

"Ad... Ad... Argh, fuck..." he swore, eyes locked onto a word he couldn't pronounce. With a clank, the boy bumped head-first into the back of a set of Spartan armor. He fell to the dirt, groaned and clutched his forehead, then said "Sorry, sir... Goddamn, my head..." then he looked up. He was greeted by Noble Six, looking at him with his usual, calm demeanor. The Spartan extended his hand and responded dully "Be more careful, Kyle."

Kyle took the older boy's hand, nodding. He'd met Six before a while ago. They were back in New Alexandria, on Reach. The young Marine was delivering a note to the CO of a nearby command post when he and his unit got ambushed. Managed to link up with the Spartan, who'd had just taken out the Covenant supercarrier in orbit. The two had spoken a few words as they fought to defend the center and a few evacuating transports of Civilians from Covenant forces. They'd befriended each-other rather quickly.

The soldier nodded, then said "Follow me. The two Itamis are waiting for us with the rest of the refugees Recon 3 and we recovered. Lunch is about to begin." to which the Marine's stomach growled. He sighed, then said "Fucking great, chief." with a grin. He walked with the soldier. As they moved, he was greeted by a large table at which many a dozen people sat, the most colorful (and obvious) being a Goth Loli girl with a giant ax-what the fuck!? Up next was a girl with aquamarine eyes and hair, as well as a staff and magician's robes, then finally, an Elven girl with the sharp ears and features of what you'd usually see in an Elf, as well as beautiful, long blonde hair.

He tilted his hat to all of them, then greeted them in local latin dialect... All of them greeted back in kind. The blue-haired girl looked at him, slightly embarrassed... The Marine himself felt a knot in his throat. He tugged on his collar, seeing how the only seat available was right next to her, then sat down. Both of them were red-faced. He saw the goth-loli smirk, then heard her tell a few words to the girl, nudging her shoulder lightly with a devious grin. After a short prayer, a few SDF soldiers began delivering food across the long table. Soups, fresh-baked bread, et-cetera.

The mage girl looked to Adrian, then wearily asked something in Latin, pointing at the soup. The boy looked over the words in the dictionary, then answered with a nod and smile. She looked at the soup, then took a spoonful. Immediately, he saw her face light up and her eyes widen, then tasted the soup himself... Chicken soup from ACTUAL Chicken, instead of goddamned rations for a change. He smirked, then said to himself "Gonna enjoy today after all..."

The girl looked to him, curiously, to which the boy pointed at himself and said "English." to which the girl tried to repeat... Kyle said it again, slower. "En-Glish..." to which she repeated "English..." just as slow. He smiled, then nodded and turned back to his food. Within thirty, the entire group had finished their lunch, allowing Kyle to stand up and walk toward the two Interdimensional Twins, with a smirk.

"How goes it, Lieutenants?" He asked smugly. The two nodded and the SDF Itami said "Just fine..." before looking back to his UNSC counterpart. He said "He's a little young for a soldier." to which the young marine frowned and said "Fought against Covies, though." and the UNSC Itami nodded and said "Kid's been through a lot of rough stuff. Even fought alongside Noble Six on Reach."

"Wow, for real!?" SDF-boi asked, eyes wide. Six walked up beside the Youth Corps marine, then said "Yes. Quite a good soldier to have in combat. His aim is impeccable, but nothing like his sniper XO, Sinon." to which the SDF Itami gasped and said "HOW DID I NOT SEE THAT?! THAT'S SHINO ASADA!" making the UNSC Group halt. Kyle nodded and said "I'm... Guessing there's an anime with her?"

The man nodded hurriedly, to which the Marine smirked and looked to Six, before saying "Oh, she's gonna LOVE hearing about that." before looking back, to see Sinon appearing. "Hear what?" She asked worriedly, to which Kyle's grin widened as he said "Japs had an anime with you in it, apparently. Like what the fuck?" moments short of bursting into laughter. Sinon's brows shot up in surprise, then she said "Well, Imma have to see that, then."

The JSDF Itami looked lightly embarrassed, then said "How about no..." to which the girl looked at him, an angered glare occupying her face. The SDF Itami backed off, then said "Alright, alright..." shaking his hands defensively. The young infantrymen laughed, then Sinon patted Kyle on the back and said "Jeez. He's more of a wimp than even our Itami."

The droning of jet engines sounded off above. Nary a dozen aircraft emerged overhead, coming in low for a runway landing and allowing full view of their Delta-wing shape. Following them in, several smaller aircraft extended gear too. The noise was nigh-unbearable to most, but the Marines and Spartans. Looking up, Kyle hummed, then said "COUNTERSTRIKE must've begun."

"COUNTERSTRIKE!? What's that?!" SDF Itami asked with worry, to which Kyle furrowed his brows, then said "Well, it's the UNSC battle plan devised by our Generals, yours and to pay the Imps back and hound'em before they fully retreat. Six armored divisions, thirty Marine battalions and about two hundred extra support units are about to be pressed into combat. We're planning to make a push for the bigger Imperial cities and vassals, take them over and occupy them, deprive the Empire of their necessary monetary aid, recruitment centers and food. Phase 2 is about to begin and the SDF is about to get involved in it too, far as I know."

Everyone stared at him with awe...

"Our corps is going too." Nodded the Marine to his XO. Sinon nodded too, then said "I'll take a bath, then talk to the lads and gals, have'em know about this. See you, Chief." and she patted him on the back before walking away. The Marine nodded, saluted them too and said "See y'all around..." Before turning toward the SDF soldiers pitching a bath tent, to help them...


	8. Op COUNTERSTRIKE part 2:Italica

Kyle walked up to the JSDF trucks, MA5B slung on his shoulder and with a couple of his Marines in tow, as daylight broke and the sun lazily rose over the base. The SDF Itami asked him and a couple of others from the UNSC to help their resident Elf, Mage and Apostle to sell something found in the fields east of the base. Scales from scaled dragons that the SDF Triple-A had lit up in the first engagements. From what the boy understood, the team was headed for Italica, a local trading outpost and a town located smack-dab at the meeting point of four major trading routes. Something the UNSC had eyed, Kyle was pretty sure.

One of the two Marines, the one posted on Kyle's left flank, had taken an M249 Minimi LMG from the local armories, checked out because, quote 'She wanted to try the stuff her ancestors used'. She was grinning as she held the LMG leaning against her shoulder and its belts and ammo boxes strapped to her person. Meanwhile, the other Marine off to his right had a standard-issue M45 Shotgun. The two were wearing standard camouflage BDUs and the heavy weapons gal had no helmet, instead opting to let her green hair flow freely in the wind.

The drone of engines sounded off overhead, as well as the clap of rotor blades against air. The trio gazed back to see the rest of the reinforcement party. Sixteen Marines, split between a Pelican and two Falcons, with a Spartan team to boot, had just boarded their vics and prepared for takeoff. The Marine nodded to the men, then boarded his transport with the Third Recon, sitting down beside the girls.

"Hello." Noted the Mage, waving at him, surprisingly enough the word being said in English. The soldier looked to the girl, then nodded and said "Hello to you too... You can speak English?"

"I've learnt rather quickly." The girl said politely. "I am Lelei La Lelena, a mage in training." She then introduced herself calmly. Kyle nodded, then said "Kyle Upham. Sergeant in the UNSC Marine Corps. Nice to meet ya, Lelei, and props to you for learning to speak English in what feels like a few hours." grinning. He helped his two escort Marines up, then nodded to them and said "Keep your eyes open. This Humvee ain't that heavily armored... And everything in, around and between us and the outside's tarps and wood."

"Sir." The two Marines nodded sternly, setting their weapons by their sides. Kyle looked to Six, then nodded to the UNSC Spartan and said "We're the Fire, the Sword and the Gun." receiving a salute from the young Spartan. The team racked and loaded weapons and prepared for deployment as the vehicle surged forth, through the main gate, followed by the aircraft and a pair of Warthogs, one armed with racks of missiles and the other with a chaingun.

The aircraft roared overhead, now leading the team on the path. Kyle looked to the Jietai Itami, then told him "I've got a GPS! We've marked Italica as a minor settlement on the SATNAV. I can bring my GPS forward if you need it!" to which the Lieutenant gave a thumbs up and said "It'd be appreciated, Sarge! C'mon forward!" allowing the boy to stand up and walk toward the front of the vehicle. He took out a Global Positioning System and attached it with a sucker to the front windshield, then looked to Kurata and said "Drive us around safely, dude!"

"Gotcha!" nodded the Japanese. Kyle turned back and sat down ad the vehicle drove through the rough terrain, under escort. by the aircraft... Meanwhile, in Italica, a situation was brewing. Walking up the steps toward the main palace, a young redheaded woman with cherry eyes, and clad in a royalty-like armor with a cape and sword to boot, was followed by her guards, the Knights of the Rose Order.

Princess Piña Co Lada, daughter of the Emperor, moved toward the main castle, now left with only her friends in the Rose Knights, with her friend, Hamilton, close behind her. The others were lining up to help train up whatever defenders remained for the next bandit assault. Pina sighed... The outpost outside of Italica had been destroyed by heavenly creatures yesterday and many of the remaining guard soldiers were subsequently killed by the Bandits left from the Alnus Army, those few still alive.

The entry into the main palace was unobstructed... Pina herself moved up the stairs alone, to be greeted by the regent of the place... Having been seated and given food, the woman and the Regent started speaking. Piña joked about the Bandits, their entry into town... Other such trivialities that were not designed for normal people to hear, but for a knight like her to joke about. She sighed.

The head maid walked in and handed her the food, then said "Here you are, Your Highness..." pushing the tray of puree and bread over to her. Little food on the plate. The Princess began eating, then sighed and said "Not its flavor, nor its quantity are satisfactory..." before the Maid noted "If you fill your stomach with rich flavors and in high amounts, you are sure to fall ill."

"You've been in such a siege before?" Pina asked, gazing to her. The maid nodded, then said "Yes... I once lived in the town of Rosa. It's Imperial territory now." her wrinkly lips bent into a smile. Pina looked at the wine in her chalice, then nodded and said "I see..." before beginning to work on the food. Having finished it, the woman stood up and looked to the Maid, before saying "I will be sleeping for two hours. Awake me if there is anything coming, by any means."

The Maid grinned "What if you don't wanna wake up by nice means?"

Pina looked back, then grinned and said "You are clear to throw a bucket of as cold as you can get the water to awake me." allowing the made to nod and said with joviality "Understood." allowing for Pina to go to bed... He thoughts were full as she turned in for the day, laying down in the bed, her scarlet hair let loose from its ponytail and her weighted armor off her already frail body. She looked up at the ceiling, then said to herself "We thought the Men in Green and their allies would've come to attack... But it was our own men... Our kingdom's men... Our brothers... Gods, why?"

She closed her eyes...

The sudden chill she felt all over her body made her send out a shrill scream as she bounced out of her bed and onto the hard wooden floor... She looked up, to see the maid and Hamilton. The maid nodded, then said "We've got something coming... Flying creatures of iron and horseless carriages... Three of each. They all come from the West Gate." making Pina gasp... She took her gear and almost immediately bolted out of her room, dressing up on the way to the West Gate...

She froze as she saw a massive iron bird and two of its small offspring floating overhead of them, the clap of their wings and the drone of their powers unbearable... They were painted green shades and one of them had writing in Latin letters... M-A-R-I-N-E-S... The big mother bird... A knock on the West Gate's smaller personnel door took Pina's attention away as she, Grey and Hamilton walked to it... The Princess pulled aside the visor cover and looked out, to see the three carriages, two of which were manned by Infantrymen clad in strange armor, while a squad-sized group exited the vehicle... Three more soldiers, all of them... Children!? Following them was a... A MAGE?! AN ELF?! AND THE APOSTLE OF EMROY!

"OH GODS" Pina gasped, shutting the visor cover, leaning her back against the door and panting. "THEY'VE GOT AN ELF, A MAGE AND THE APOSTLE OF EMROY OUT THERE!" making everyone gasp. Hamilton stuttered "A-Are you sure!? It can't be!" before Pina nodded and said "My eyes are not failing me yet, Hamilton! IT'S HER!" making Grey sigh and say "Perhaps we should let them in before their Iron Birds let loose whatever armaments they have?"

Pina swallowed, then nodded and turned back, her heart beating out of her chest. She breathed in and out, once, twice, three times... Then pushed the door open hard and said "HELLO!" happily... But a bump was heard. She gasped, then twitched and slowly looked down, to see that one of the soldiers was laying on the ground... The boy groaned and said "THANK FUCK I HAVE A HELMET..." as he was helped up by his friends.

Pina yelped as she saw the boy being lifted to his feet, then blushed when he took his helmet and goggles off, revealing his features to her. Hamilton gasped, blushing, and said "By the Gods, what a handsome young man!" to which most of the squad of his burst into laughter, save for the Mage and the boy himself. He sighed, then said in clear Latin " _We are soldiers of the UNSC and of the JSDF, part of Recon Group 3. If you would allow us entry to this place, miss..."_

"Pina... And... You may speak English if you so desire..." The girl noted "I believe that you have some translation magic with you, do you not?"

Kyle sighed, embarrassed, then said "Ah, right, fuckin' forgot about those and that we got your lexicon in them now." He sighed. "Wait..." He then noted, looking to Lelei. She shook her head and said "I learned your words thanks to the Translators. I am a quick learner, as I said." making the boy sigh deeply... He nodded and walked inside, allowed so by Pina, Hamilton and the Knights, then looked up and waved the metal birds over into the courtyard.

They touched down, dropping their troops inside, the massive, heavily-armored Spartans and the lightly armored Scout Marines, carrying DMRs and LMGs. The Spartan-IVs walked up to Six, all of them members of Gamma Company, which'd been folded into the S-IVs from the IIIs almost three years ago. They saluted Six, who nodded and saluted back before saying "Police the bodies... Secure the walls." as he saw the casualties from the latest fight laying on the ground.

Kyle looked to Pina, then asked "I'm imagining it's those Bandits we've been hearing about."

"How did you know?" Pina asked, walking beside him. The Sergeant nodded, then responded "Our spy technology allows us to see most of what's going on in the world. C'mon. I think Itami'll want to talk to you lot about a joint defense here." receiving a nod from Pina. The officers walked toward the main palace with the woman, while the Marines and Spartans stood to secure the area, bringing the other vehicles in.

Walking through the corridors of the Palace, which were lit only by the dwindling sunlight outside. "After the defeat at Alnus and the separate defeat at Mneomosyne Hill at the hands of your armies, we were left with nothing. Many of the survivors turned bandits... Now they've coalesced their forces into an army a thousand strong. Not enough to fully surround the Dukedom of Italica, but just enough to focus their attacks on one gate."

"So we left you lot defenseless? Huh, shouldn't have attacked us in the first place, then." Kyle noted, holding the strap of his rifle. He watched as Pina turned her head toward him, blushing, then she sighed and said "Perhaps not..." turning her head back forward... Damn it... Kyle actually felt like an ass for a change. He scoffed, then said "Sorry about that..." to which she nodded. She turned to the left, pushing a door open and revealing the throne room... Two thrones... With a young girl sitting in one of them. Pina looked to everyone and said "This is Countess Formar... Daughter of the Count of Formar, who went into battle near hill Mnemosyne and lost his life there."

Kyle regarded the ginger girl with blue eyes sadly, then walked up to her, taking his helmet off and knelt. The girl gasped in surprise, looking at the Marine. The boy simply smiled and said "Hello, Your Excellence." slightly awing the girl. She nodded and said "Good day..." more calmly than you'd expect a child to say. The Marine nodded and responded "You're a pretty one."

She spoke calmly "Thank you... Are you one of the ones that fought my father?" She asked, a bit saddened. Kyle shook his head and said "Nah... I landed after them. And let me be the first to say to you, my condolences for your loss... The Empire's betrayal to their own Vassals was nothing short of a backstab I never thought I'd see coming." to which the girl gasped and said "The Empire did that?"

"A fool's errand from my father..." Pina whispered sadly to Itami, who nodded and said "Rid yourself of your political opposition... Damn... Poor girl."

Kyle patted her on the head, then said "Sorry sweetie... But it wasn't Pina's fault." he pointed to the redhead, then looked back and said "Right?" angrily. He received quick nods from Pina and her friends, then looked back to the girl and told her in reassurance "But don't worry. The big guys like me and my team are your friends, sweetie... We're here to rid you of the bandits, to make Italica a happy place again."

"Promise?" She asked, looking the boy in the eye.

"Promise." Kyle grinned, standing up and bowing to the girl. She jumped to her feet, then quickly gave him a peck on the cheek, smiling, face flushed red. Pina chuckled as Kyle returned to them, then Itami said "Jeez, dude. Kurata probably hates you." before receiving a glare from Kyle, one that could kill tanks. He placed his helmet on his head and said "I'll go brief the Marines and Spartans."

"Wait. May I ask what you wish to do with this place?" Pina asked. Kyle looked back, then said "We're starving the Empire of resources, to make them surrender quickly. We're deploying a Garrison here to keep this place secured. UNSC Army Corps will need this road... We'll assure security, bring in food, new technology and perhaps align this place to our views."

"I see..." Pina said, looking at him, awed.

"We're Recon... Big force comes after us." Kyle nodded, then spoke to Itami and the others present "Ready the others and talk to Pina and her men. Get them to talk to us and prep yourselves for battle." and finally walked out. Going to his Marines and Spartans, the boy started up "ALRIGHT, MARINES! GATHER 'ROUND!" he waved them all forth. The soldiers formed up around him, some 40 men and women in total, allowing him to speak to all of them "We've got an incoming shitshow. 1000 bad guys are comin' our way. I want y'all to be read to fight tonight, and hard!" he pointed outside and said "Those asshole Bandits ain't gonna pillage this fuckin' town while we still walk, talk and shoot! Let's make sure we light those fuckers up good out there! WE'RE GREEN!"

"Hoo'rah!" The Marines and Spartans chanted.

"WE'RE MEAN!" He then called out, pounding both his fists into his chest. The Marines called out again "HOO-RAH!" Proudly. Kyle smirked, then looked to everyone and yelled "AND WE'RE THE DEVILDOGS, UNSC'S MARINES!" He raised both his fists into the the air, to which everyone cheered, readying weapons and moving about, to each gate from North to South and East to West. The Pelican's engines thundered as it took off. Kyle looked to his two bodyguards and showed them to move up to the Gate they entered through and set up mines and the MG.

Tonight was gonna be a light-show!


	9. COUNTERSTRIKE P3:The 'Zulu'

As night fell, the UNSC had set up defenses within Italica. Kyle was on the top of the rampart as he saw the enemy approach and racked the bolt of his rifle. Hundreds of torches stood before them, as did thousands of swords, axes and shields. The Princess stood behind him, worried, then said "Are you certain you wish to stay here?" to which Kyle scoffed, then said "Don't try'n change my mind, Yer Highness. We're in deep shit as is with the limited number of infantry."

"Sir." called out Sinon, walking to Kyle. The young man turned to face her, then asked "What's the matter, Sinon?"

The girl saluted, then said "Navy just called, sir. They're asking if we need air support, since they can spare several Longswords to aid us. And Fifth Company's coming in with an entire tank battalion to help. Scorpions and two Grizzlies." and extended him a tablet. The boy took it, then looked over it and said "Tell'em to keep the birds on stand-by... This is either gonna be Rorke's Drift with automatic weapons or a really shitty version of the movie ' _Avatar_ '."

Sinon smirked, then said "Think it's the first one up, sir, though we've got aircraft a-plenty to call up and actual cavalry coming. The Brits only had a few hundred rifles. And the enemy can't surround the city. Too few men for a sustained siege, so they're gonna be charging headlong into the main gate." proudly. Kyle nodded, then said "You're right on that one, Asada. Let's show these fuckers what it means to light up the night sky."

"Aye aye, sir!" Sinon called out, saluting. She turned about and moved to her post beside a few other snipers. Six walked to Kyle, then racked the bolt of his MA5C and said "We're up and ready to go on the ground. I've also got a call from one of my fellow B-Company Spartans, Alice. She's coming down here with the Paratroopers that the JSDF's gonna be sending to reinforce us."

"So we got Five-Com, an Armored Battalion, a few JSDF drop troops and Alice-B320, the Devil of Shanxi, out and hunting, ASIDE from the Air Corps' reinforcements. Jesus Christ, I am starting to feel bad for the poor fuckers ahead of us." Kyle smirked. The Spartan hummed, then nodded and moved off to the other side of the city, taking a Mongoose with him.

"Going to check on the Elf, Magic Girl and War Priestess..." Kyle muttered to himself, grinning. He turned about and looked to his Marines, then said "READY WEAPONS!" as he watched the enemy army drawing their own swords. The troopers all racked and aimed their guns. Their leader called out "STEADY YOUR WEAPONS! DON'T FIRE UNTIL I GIVE THE ORDER!" and he turned to Pina and said "Go get your militiamen and Rose Knights ready! We're in for it now!" with a grin. Pina nodded, then rushed off to her knights, drawing her sword.

Several Marines looked down at the Italica citizens armed with gardening tools, axes and swords, then readied themselves. Many more affixed Bayonets to their rifles in preparation. Kyle, instead, opted to grab a sword from one of the ramparts' racks and sheath it by his belt, before aiming down the ironsights of his rifle and calling out in a song " _News had come the early morning, tell the Main force we have slain! Chance for peace is gone and all talks have been in vain! THE BANDITS ARE CHARGING AND THEY'RE FACING ITALICA'S WALLS! NOW THEIR THOUSAND MEN ARE DEAD AND THE MARINES ARE AT THE DOOR!"_

" _BANDITS ATTACK! FIGHT BACK TO BACK! SHOW'EM NO MERCY AND FIRE AT WILL! KILL OR BE KILLED!"_ Sinon called back, grinning as she aimed down her scope. Kyle nodded, then barked out "ALL GUNS! FIRE AT WILL! MOW THESE FUCKERS DOWN AS THEY APPROACH THE GATES! FIRE! FIRE! _FIRE!"_ and squeezed the trigger. The sudden cannonade that rumbled was amazing to say the least. The Gatling gun from the hog fired through the door, assault rifles and LMGs poured lead down into the charging crowd and snipers executed whomever seemed the least bit in command.

The Bandits didn't relent, even under the battering barrage of automatic weapons. A great deal of them died on the gates, but somehow managed to push through. Kyle gave a hand signal and showed the Pelican, which was in hiding, to take off and open fire. Bursts of 30mm fire exploded outside the gate as bandits streamed in, trying to get away and Marines redirected their fire, opening up over the edges. The Gatling gun of the 'Hog fired into the mass of flesh with little regard, its gunner grinning to her ears as she fired.

"This is like a fucking shooting gallery! I fucking adore this shit!" Laughed the Gunner, with her friend carrying a Minimi LMG grinning widely while spewing death and destruction at the enemy. Pina looked on, awed by the bravery and their magical weaponry, then called out "Knights, follow me!" before pointing forward with her sword. She watched as a man dashed toward her, then sliced his throat with her sword, before pinning another to the floor with her sword and kicking down two more. Pina's knights joined in, blade for blade, stabbing, slashing and gutting through the enemy with such ease,the bandits even seemed scared.

Kyle looked to see the JSDF's Recon 3 moving in, firing rifles as they advanced into the crowd of both friend and foe, keeping the aim steady. All except for Kuribayashi, who charged in like a fucking moron, bayonet up. The boy gasped as he heard rapid steps, then saw her... She was giggling, the young goddess, as she leapt into the middle of combat, that massive halberd in hand and goth-loli priestess uniform flailing in the wind. Rory Mercury slashed a man brutally in half, then spun and killed several more, before taking a pose... The entire group seemed frightened.

Six pounced in beside the girl and Kuribayashi, knife and pistol out. He stabbed a man right through his helmet and skull, flinging him toward the crowd and firing six shots from the M6D pistol, which killed eight men. Kyle watched on as the trio, now in the middle of it all, seemed to ready themselves for a long period of combat. He smirked, then said to Sinon "I think this is going swimmingly."

"Yep..." Sinon said in a monotone voice as she sniped another commander. "As swimmingly as it can be..." She then observed. Kyle nodded, then turned about as he heard footsteps and saw a Bandit charging toward them. He shot a burst from his AR, sending the man tumbling, dead, over the edge of the gate. The boy raised his rifle, then said "Yup..." before turning toward the outside. Sinon hummed, then said "Heh... I see'em too."

Kyle's grin reappeared. "Death in the Shape of a Panzer Battalion!"

With the melee combat ongoing downstairs, the boy and his supporting squad then opened fire on those that attempted to climb. Bullets tore through the paper-thin steel armor with ease. The enemy troopers flopped dead onto the floor, some falling over the edge again. Kyle grinned, then said "This is like slotting goddamn floppies in the Bush War." to which Sinon said "Know that feeling?"

"No, but I just imagine this is what it's like!" The boy returned, laughing as he fired.

Pina sliced a man's head clean off, then stabbed another in the chest and swiped under a third, before allowing Kuribayashi to finish him with a stab from her bayonet. The girl then aimed her rifle and fired for a full second. Meanwhile, Rory decapitated two men behind Pina and jumped beside the Knight Princess and said "This is getting interesting!" with a grin and her lower lip, a dark shade of purple as opposed to the rouge it had beforehand. The girl spun quickly, delivering several more deadly blows with the bladed weapon, then halted as Pina and Kuribayashi, both yelling aloud their war cries, one in Japanese, one in Falmar Latin, stabbed into a bandit, pinning him to the floor and killing him.

"Fightin' good, for a Royal." Shino complimented the Princess. The woman nodded, then said "Not bad yourself, for a Green Person." to which Shino grinned and looked to Itami, then said "DON'T THIS SHIT REMIND YOU OF THAT MOVIE, _ZULU_ , CAP?!" as she saw the man firing with both rifle and pistol into the enemy crowd. He grinned, nodded and said "Kinda fits!"

... Afar from the Combat Zone, the 7th Armored rushed to their aid, with JSDF aircraft flying low above them. Attack helicopters, Huey transport choppers and even a few UNSC Pelicans and Hornets. From aboard his tank, the Commander of the Armored Corps could see the tracers and explosions within the city's walls. The man then spoke into com, toward a Pelican "Master Chief, sir. Targets in sight. Two mikes out. IFFs are already flaring on the HUDs."

" _Copy all. Give the order to fire when you see fit."_ The Chief said, making the man grin... He switched come frequencies, then told his Battalion "Listen up! We're sweeping in, fast and hard! Keep your stabilizers on, load High-Explosive and try not to hit the friendlies within the Gate! Focus on the outside of the city and make'em feel the weight of the Tank Corp's Warmachines! Fire at will!"

The first shells thundered out of the heavy cannons of the Scorpion tanks. Like rain, the 90mm rounds came from the sky, raining down upon the enemy positions outside the gate. The echoes of detonation, followed by the screams of pain, came back to the tank battalion. The first Salvo had made a great deal of casualties. Meanwhile, the air force's rockets and gatling guns fired, killing any who survived or attempted to flee with no mercy. A second salvo hollered, shells whistling through the sky and ramming down into the ground, killing dozens more.

The Bandits' numbers seemed to thin as if by magical means. Lelei and Tuka observed the battle from afar, the elf with eyes wide as she saw flying monsters of all shapes and sizes moving in. "What kind of magic did they...?" The girl asked, to which Lelei said "Those are not magic beasts. I'd presume they're of the JSDF and their allies, the UNSC. They seem to possess thousands of such vehicles..." before she looked up at the night sky and saw thousands of lights. Thousands more than in any previous night.

One of the metal monsters swung by overhead and landed in the courtyard in front of them, dropping several Marines off the deck, including a man with dark skin and holding a cigar between his lips. The man signaled back into the strange monster and two tall, armored knights walked out, shocking Tuka. They were wearing similar armor to the Noble Spartan.

"By the Gods, look!" Tuka called out. Lelei cocked her head down to see them too, then said "Perhaps they're of same kin as the Noble?" to which Tuka nodded, before moving down the ramparts. Lelei followed her quickly to them. The dark-skinned man turned to see them, then called out"Wow, wow, wow. Where're you two rushing, ladies?"

"We came to you." Lelei responded in English. "You are?"

"Name's Johnson." The man nodded with a grin, puffing from his cigar. He turned to the two giants, one glad in emerald armor with a scar on its intricate chest plate and the other with a white armor set and a large orange dome covering most of her helmet, then told them "On your mark, we start moving for the Front Line, Chief." and the green one nodded, readying his weapon. Johnson looked to the girls, then said "You two are coming with us, too. My boys and the Chiefs will keep you safe."


	10. OK OK OK

**_Seeing the support for these stories makes me wonder what the hell I'm thinking some times..._**

 ** _DUE TO A LOT OF YOU BOYS(and maybe girls too? I dunno) ASKING FOR THIS, each of the stories that receive this AN will (probably) be continued in due time, replacing the damnable Excuse I had for the 'Deletion notice'._**

 ** _Hopefully this means you won't becoming after me with pitchforks and torches._**

 ** _'Till next time! Laters!_**


End file.
